Improved Signal-to-Noise Ratio Performance in Magnetic Resonance Imaging by Using a Multilayered Surface Coil Array—A Simulation Study

A multilayered surface coil array for magnetic resonance imaging with an improved signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) performance is introduced and investigated by a simulation study. By using an effective decoupling method, the strong mutual coupling effect between the coil layers can be accurately removed, leading to a coherent combination of the signals of the individual coils. This results in a much stronger received signal power which increases with the number of coil layers in the array. This, together with a smaller rate of increase of noise power with the number of coil layers, leads to a net increase in the SNR of array output with the number of coil layers in the array. Rigorous numerical simulation examples have been carried out to confirm and verify the performance of the new array.