J Korean Soc Magn Reson Med.  2007 Jun;11(1):20-26.

Development of Solenoid RF Coil for Animal Imaging in 3T High Magnetic Field MRI

• Lee HS
• Woo DC
• Min KH
• Kim YK
• Lee HK
• Choe BY

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study was to develop and optimize solenoid coil for animal- model in 3 T MRI system and investigate and compare with the birdcage coil concerning the image quality with the various parameters such as SNR and Q-factor.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Solenoid coil for animal-model was made on the acryl structure (diameter 4 cm, length 10 cm) 3 times-winding cooper tape of width 2 cm , thickness 0.05 cm and length 10 cm with 2 cm interval between winded tapes. Capacitors from 2 pF to 100 pF were used, and the solenoid coil was designed for receiver only coil.
RESULTS
SNR of the developed solenoid was 985 in CuSO4 0.7 g/L and 995 in rat experiment. Q-factor was 84-89 in unloaded condition and 203-206 in loaded condition.
CONCLUSION
The resolution of the image obtained from solenoid was relatively higher than that of the conventional birdcage coil. In addition, the homogeneity of RF field by coil simulation was significantly excellent. The present study demonstrated that the solenoid coil could be useful to obtain small animal images with better contrast, resolution, visibility than images from birdcage.

Keyword

RF coil; solenoid coil; birdcage coil; SNR; Q-factor

MeSH Terms

Animals*
Magnetic Fields*
Magnetic Resonance Imaging*
Rats
Wind