A Double-Layer ¹H/²³Na Transceiver Array for Human Brain MRI at 7T

With the increasing adoption of ultra-high-field (UHF) systems, sodium (²³Na) imaging is undergoing clinical translation. However, existing commercially available dual-tuned coils, while demonstrating adequate sodium signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), fail to meet the requirements for high-resolution proton (¹H) structural imaging, resulting in suboptimal workflow efficiency during integrated multi-nucleus examinations. In this work, we present a novel double-layer ¹H/²³Na transceiver array with eight channels per nucleus for human brain MRI at 7T. The proposed array achieved 64% of the ¹H SNR of the 32-channel receive array commonly used in clinical practice. By integrating dual-nucleus imaging capabilities within a single platform, this design eliminates coil-switching requirements and post-acquisition registration, thereby streamlining clinical workflows and advancing sodium MRI translational feasibility.