Design of a Coplanar Interlayer Gapped Microstrips Arrangement for Multi-Nuclei (H-1, F-19, P-31, and Na-23) Applications in 7T MRI

Abstract

Seven Tesla Magnetic Resonance (MR) systems can obtain high quality anatomical images using protons (1H) and can be used for multinuclear imaging and MR spectroscopy. These imaging modes can also obtain images and metabolic information using other nuclei, such as19F,31P, and23Na. Here, we present an RF coil unit using a microstrip capable of resonating at four frequencies: 300 (1H), 280 (19F), 121 (31P), and 78 (23Na) MHz. The RF unit consists of a single feeding port and four lines that resonate and run a current at their respective frequency. We used the gapped microstrip concept to isolate each conducting line and interleaved the dielectric materials used for each line, thereby reducing the coupling between them. We also analyzed this design using electromagnetic (EM) simulations, and found that the quad tuned arrangement produced low coupling between adjacent current lines and achieved a uniform |B1| field in the z-y plane. © 2021 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.