Transverse low-field RF coils in MRI

Imaging at low fields imposes a number of nonstandard requirements on the RF coil. At low fields, coil losses are dominant over patient losses. This means that even more stress is put on the quality factor Q. Furthermore, the low frequency also implies a high inductance L and/or a high capacitance C product. Just increasing the capacitance C results in a difficult optimal matching to the preamplifier as well as increased costs and higher complexity of the resonator construction. Coils with a high quality factor Q and a high inductance are thus required at low fields. Birdcage coils possess a number of advantages over saddle and solenoidal coils. However, the currently used birdcages have inherently low inductances limited by the size of the coil. The problem can be solved by a novel design in which the strip configuration for inductors is abandoned and the inductors are realized as a certain number of turns. The Q factor can be further improved by using Litz wire. Three novel transverse RF coils with high inductances are presented and compared with each other as well as to the standard coils. Both linear and quadrature modes are discussed.