J Korean Soc Magn Reson Med.  2009 Dec;13(2):137-145.

Effectiveness of 32-element Surface Coil Array for Accelerated Volume-Targeted Breath-Hold Coronary MRA

• Lee HY
• Suh JS
• Park J

Abstract

PURPOSE
To compare 12 and 32-element surface coil arrays for highly accelerated coronary magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) using parallel imaging.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Steady state free precession coronary MRA was performed in 5 healthy volunteers at 1.5 T whole body MR scanner using both 12 and 32-element surface coil arrays. Left anterior descending and right coronary artery data sets were acquired for each volunteer. Data sets were sub-sampled for parallel imaging using reduction factors from 1 to 6. Mean geometry factor (g-factor), maximum g-factor, and artifact level were calculated for each of the two coil arrays.
RESULTS
Over all reduction factors, the mean and maximum g-factors and artifact level were significantly reduced using the 32-element array compared to the 12-element array (P << 0.1). The mean g-factor was sensitive to the imaging orientations of coronary arteries while the maximum g-factor and artifact level were independent of orientation.
CONCLUSION
The 32-element surface coil array significantly improves artifact and noise suppression for highly accelerated coronary MRA using parallel imaging. The increased acceleration factors made feasible with the 32-element array offer the potential to enhance spatial resolution or increase volumetric coverage for 3D coronary MRA.

Keyword

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); Coronary magnetic resonance angiography; Parallel imaging; Geometry factor

MeSH Terms

Acceleration
Artifacts
Coronary Vessels
Magnetic Resonance Angiography
Noise
Orientation