10-channel phased-array coil for carotid wall MRI at 3T

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering
• Radiology

Background:

• Accurate assessment of carotid bifurcation plaque is crucial for stroke prevention and treatment.
• MRI plaque delineation is limited by low contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and long acquisition times.
• A novel 10-channel phased-array receive coil for bilateral carotid bifurcation imaging at 3T MRI is proposed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the performance of a new 10-channel MRI receive coil compared to a commercial 4-channel coil.
• To assess improvements in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), CNR, and g-factor noise amplification.
• To demonstrate the coil's effectiveness in visualizing atherosclerotic plaque in patient data.

Main Methods:

• Comparison of a 10-channel coil with a 4-channel coil using phantom and volunteer data (N=9).
• Assessment of SNR, noise correlation, g-factor, and vessel wall/lumen CNR with black-blood sequences.
• Acquisition of patient data from 12 individuals with atherosclerotic carotid artery disease.

Main Results:

• The 10-channel coil demonstrated a significant SNR increase in phantoms (+77 ± 27%) and improved CNR in healthy carotid arteries (+62 ± 11%).
• Reduced g-factor noise amplification was observed with the 10-channel coil.
• Excellent atherosclerotic plaque delineation was achieved in patient data.

Conclusions:

• The 10-channel coil design enhances visualization of carotid arteries and bifurcations.
• The new coil enables increased parallel imaging acceleration factors compared to the 4-channel coil.
• This improved imaging capability aids in the assessment and management of carotid artery disease.