Performance evaluation of matrix gradient coils.

Area of Science:

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Coil Design
• Electromagnetics

Background:

• Traditional gradient coils have established performance metrics.
• Matrix coils (multi-coils) offer advanced encoding capabilities.
• Efficient performance assessment for complex coil geometries is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel performance measure for matrix coils.
• To enable efficient, local, non-linear encoding assessment.
• To generalize existing coil performance metrics.

Main Methods:

• Formulation of a joint optimization problem for non-linear encoding fields.
• Definition of a new figure of merit for matrix coils.
• Application to a cylindrical matrix coil design with numerous elements.

Main Results:

• Demonstration of a new performance measure for matrix coils.
• Identification of novel design features and optimization of coil parameters (e.g., element count).
• Comparison with existing multi-coil designs using the proposed metric.

Conclusions:

• A single performance parameter effectively assesses matrix gradient coils.
• The proposed metric accounts for local encoding performance and dissipated power.
• This facilitates optimized design of advanced MRI gradient coils.