Scalable and modular 8-channel transmit and 8-channel flexible receive coil array for F MRI of large animals.

Purpose: To introduce an RF coil system consisting of an 8-channel transmit (Tx) and 8-channel receive (Rx) coil arrays for F MRI of large animals.

Methods: The Tx efficiency and homogeneity of the 8-element loop coil array (loop size: 6 × 15 cm ) were simulated for two different pig models rendered from MR images. An 8-channel Rx coil array consisting of a flexible 6-channel posterior and a 2-channel planar anterior array was designed to fit on the abdomen of an average-sized pig in supine position.

Liquid-state carbon-13 hyperpolarization generated in an MRI system for fast imaging.

Hyperpolarized (HP) tracers dramatically increase the sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to monitor metabolism non-invasively and in vivo. Their production, however, requires an extra polarizing device (polarizer) whose complexity, operation and cost can exceed that of an MRI system itself. Furthermore, the lifetime of HP tracers is short and some of the enhancement is lost during transfer to the application site.