The optimization of an 8-channel transceive volume array for small animal MRI at 9.4T

A shielded, non-overlapped 9.4T 8-element transceive volume array was designed and constructed for small animal MRI studies. The coil configuration was optimized to obtain an appropriate trade-off between coil sensitivity, field penetration, and mutual decoupling. The simulated and experimental results presented herein demonstrate that the new volume array is capable of offering higher RF penetration, efficiency and minimum mutual coupling; the proposed technique can also be implemented for a wide range of ultra high-field applications, including dense coil arrays for human studies.