Multiple-mouse MRI with multiple arrays of receive coils

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Background:

• Traditional single-animal MRI limits throughput and increases costs.
• Current multi-animal MRI uses one radiofrequency coil per animal, reducing sensitivity and flexibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the feasibility of multi-mouse MRI utilizing a dedicated phased-array coil for each animal.
• To improve imaging efficiency and data acquisition in small animal MRI.

Main Methods:

• Developed a dual-mouse MRI system with two-element phased-array coils.
• Implemented a retrospectively gated cardiac cine MRI sequence for simultaneous scanning.
• Achieved acceleration factors exceeding the number of scanned animals.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a 3-fold acceleration in dual-mouse cardiac MRI.
• Maintained signal-to-noise ratio in the heart comparable to unaccelerated scans with a commercial coil.
• Showcased the potential for increased imaging throughput.

Conclusions:

• Phased-array coils enable feasible and efficient multi-mouse MRI.
• This approach enhances imaging speed without compromising diagnostic image quality.
• Offers a promising advancement for preclinical research requiring high-throughput small animal imaging.