Dedicated receiver array coil for 1H lung imaging with same-breath acquisition of hyperpolarized 3He and 129Xe gas

Abstract

Purpose Same-breath acquisition of 1H and hyperpolarized gases (3He and 129Xe) in the lungs provides complementary information on pulmonary structure and function with inherent spatial-temporal registration of the images from the different nuclei. To date 1H images have been acquired using the MR system's body coil, which has low SNR when compared with dedicated receiver-array coils. This study demonstrates the design and application of a dedicated 1H receiver array to improve the 1H lung SNR for use in same-breath acquisition with hyperpolarized gas 3He or 129Xe at 1.5 Tesla. Theory and Methods A four-loop dedicated receiver-array was developed in-house for 1H lung MRI to work in compatibility with existing 3He/129Xe transmit-receive coils. As part of the design process, a new generalized circuit formalism was developed for trap circuits for such a dedicated 1H receiver array at 63.8 MHz with traps for 3He 48.6 MHz and 129Xe 17.7 MHz. Results The 1H lung image SNR from the novel 1H array was twice that observed with the 1H body coil when used in same-breath acquisition with the 3He or 129Xe T-R coil in situ. Conclusion An array coil to improve 1H SNR of the lung in same-breath acquisition with hyperpolarized gases has been demonstrated. Magn Reson Med 74:291-299, 2015.