Title :
An integrated microfluidic cryo-cooled planar coil system for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Author :
Koo, Chiwan ; Feng, Ke ; Park, Jaewon ; McDougall, Mary P. ; Wright, Steven M. ; Han, Arum
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Biomed. Eng., Texas A&M Univ., College Station, TX, USA
Abstract :
An integrated microfluidic cryo-cooled planar radiofrequency (RF) coil system has been developed to enhance the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of high resolution and ultra-fast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) experiments. The developed system can cool MR planar coils to liquid nitrogen temperature (-196°C) without freezing the target samples on the imaging surface, thereby maintaining minimal distance between the coils and the samples. The planar coils were fabricated on a 0.5 mm thick poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) substrate by using microfabrication technologies with a poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microfluidic channel for liquid nitrogen cooling. The average signal to noise ratio (SNR) enhancement measured with imaging was 1.51 ± 0.09 times.
Keywords :
bioMEMS; biomedical MRI; coils; cryogenic electronics; microfabrication; microfluidics; polymers; integrated microfluidic cryo-cooled planar radiofrequency coil system; liquid nitrogen temperature; microfabrication; microfluidic channel; poly (dimethylsiloxane); poly(methyl methacrylate); signal to noise ratio; size 0.5 mm; temperature -196 degC; ultrafast magnetic resonance imaging; Coils; High-resolution imaging; Image resolution; Magnetic resonance imaging; Microfluidics; Nitrogen; Radio frequency; Signal resolution; Signal to noise ratio; Temperature;
Conference_Titel :
Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS), 2010 IEEE 23rd International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Wanchai, Hong Kong
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-5761-8
Electronic_ISBN :
1084-6999
DOI :
10.1109/MEMSYS.2010.5442380
