Inductively Coupled Wireless Coils for Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Review

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering
• Physics

Background:

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is crucial for diagnosis and research, but conventional wired radiofrequency (RF) coils have limitations.
• Active wireless coils present challenges in complexity and synchronization.
• Inductively Coupled Wireless Coils (ICWCs) offer a passive wireless solution for signal and energy transmission in MRI.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the principles, advantages, and applications of ICWCs in MRI.
• To discuss the inductive coupling mechanism, SNR, and g-factor reduction in ICWCs.
• To explore the future prospects and clinical translation of ICWC technology.

Main Methods:

• Review of inductive coupling mechanisms in ICWCs.
• Derivation and analysis of the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) formula.
• Systematic summary of ICWC applications in various imaging scenarios.

Main Results:

• ICWCs provide advantages like sensitivity enhancement, cable-free operation, and design scalability.
• Demonstrated applications in invasive, multi-site, and animal imaging.
• Identified potential for ICWCs in neuroimaging, diverse field strengths, and X-nucleus MRI/MRS.

Conclusions:

• ICWCs represent a promising complementary RF component for MRI, overcoming limitations of wired and active wireless coils.
• Further development of ICWCs can drive innovation in MRI RF coil technology.
• ICWCs hold significant potential for clinical translation and advanced biomedical research.