Development of a local electromagnetic shielding for an extremity magnetic resonance imaging system

A local radio frequency (rf) shielding consisting of a Cu plate and an LC balun circuit has been developed for a compact magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system with a 0.3 T permanent magnet. Performance of the local rf shielding was evaluated using an artificial external noise source irradiating a human subject whose hand was inserted into the rf coil of the MRI system. Power spectra of the rf signal detected through the rf coil demonstrated that the local rf shield achieved 30.1 dB external noise suppression. With the local rf shielding, a MRI of the subject's hand was performed using a three-dimensional gradient-echo sequence. Anatomical structures of the subject's hand were clearly visualized. It was concluded that the local rf shielding could be used for the compact MRI system instead of a rf shielded room.