A MRI Rotary Phased Array Head Coil

A new rotary phased array (RPA) head coil that can provide homogenous brain images comparable to volumetric radiofrequency coils is proposed for magnetic resonance brain imaging applications. The design of the RPA head coil is a departure from conventional circumferential array design method, as coil elements of the RPA head coil have a “paddle-like” structure consisting of a pair of main conductors located on opposite sides, inserted equi-angularly around and over the head. A prototype 2T receive-only 4-element RPA head coil was constructed and experimentally tested against a conventional receive-only 4-element phased array head coil and a commercial receive-only quadrature birdcage head coil. Homogenous phantom images acquired by the RPA head coil show that signal intensity deep at the center of the phantom was improved as compared to the conventional phased array head coil and this improvement allow the RPA head coil to acquire homogenous brain images similar to brain images acquired with the birdcage head coil. In addition, partial parallel imaging was used in conjunction with the RPA head coil to enable rapid imaging.