RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Imaging the Internal Auditory Canal with an 8 × 2 Transceiver Array Head Coil at 7T
JF American Journal of Neuroradiology
JO Am. J. Neuroradiol.
FD American Society of Neuroradiology
DO 10.3174/ajnr.A8569
A1 Nada, A.
A1 Cousins, J.P.
A1 Rivera, A.
A1 Carr, S.B.
A1 Jones, J.
A1 Minor, C.
A1 Hetherington, H.P.
A1 Kim, J.H.
A1 Pan, J.W.
YR 2025
UL http://www.ajnr.org/content/early/2025/03/27/ajnr.A8569.abstract
AB 7T neuroimaging has known problems with B1+ strength, homogeneity and B0 susceptibility that make imaging in the inferior brain regions difficult. We investigated the utility of a decoupled 8 × 2 transceiver coil and shim insert to image the internal auditory canal (IAC) and inferior brain in comparison to the standard Nova 8/32 coil. B1+, B0, and the T2 sampling perfection with application-optimized contrasts by using flip angle evolution sequence (SPACE) were compared by using research and standard methods in n = 8 healthy adults by using a Terra system. A T2 TSE was also acquired, and 2 neuroradiologists evaluated structures in and around the IAC, blinded to the acquisition, by using a 5-point Likert scale. The Nova 8/32 coil gave lower B1+ inferiorly compared with the whole brain while the transceiver maintained similar B1+ throughout. SPACE images showed that the transceiver performed significantly better, e.g., the transceiver scored 4.0 ± 0.8 in the left IAC, compared with 2.5 ± 0.8 with the Nova 8/32. With T2-weighted imaging that places a premium on refocusing pulses, these results show that with improved B1+ performance inferiorly, good visualization of the structure of the IAC and inferior brain regions is possible at 7T.IACinternal auditory canalpTxparallel transmitRFradiofrequencySARspecific absorption rateSPACEsampling perfection with application-optimized contrasts by using flip angle evolutionVHOSvery high order B0 shim