<p>There have been several advancements in
radiofrequency (RF) coil development for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to
improve both image quality and patient comfort. Notable to these improvements
is the trend towards lightweight and flexible coils allowing for the
conformation around a variety of anatomies and body sizes. This allows for a
more comfortable patient experience and enhanced signal reception. Despite
these improvements, flexible supine coils for dedicated breast imaging, or
larger stretchable coil arrays for closer proximity of placement and imaging at
degrees of flexion, are not available. Conventional breast coils are rigid and
typically require prone positioning which creates uncomfortable pressure points
along the sternum. Also, these coils do not encompass the axilla or areas in
the upper chest wall. Additionally, surgical planning is performed in the
supine position, making it challenging to localize lesions from prone MRI
scans. To address these issues, two novel RF coil technologies are presented.
Firstly, a flexible, lightweight, 60-channel supine breast coil has been
constructed. This coil provides shorter scan times, greater coverage of the
breasts, axilla, upper chest wall, and torso while also providing enhanced
patient comfort over conventional breast coils. The second RF coil technology
is a 20-channel stretchable, multipurpose coil. This coil addresses limitations
of conformability around curved surfaces while allowing for the imaging of
joints at a bend. Due to the stretchability, this coil exhibited enhanced
signal and image quality for a variety of body sizes and anatomies, such as
ankles and wrists, when compared to a flexible commercial coil.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:purdue.edu/oai:figshare.com:article/14504628 |
| Date | 29 April 2021 |
| Creators | Jana Vincent (10711377) |
| Source Sets | Purdue University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis |
| Rights | In Copyright |
| Relation | https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/Stretching_the_Boundaries_of_Radiofrequency_Coil_Design_For_MRI_Innovations_in_Lightweight_Flexible_and_Stretchable_Designs_for_Enhanced_Patient_Comfort_and_Image_Quality/14504628 |
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