An Eight-Channel MRI Head Coil Array for Enhanced MRI-Guided Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Imaging Performance

Magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) thermal ablation is a new method of non-invasive neurosurgery that can benefit from improved MR imaging performance. The ultrasound transducer shields the radio-frequency field of the body coil, reducing transmit and receive sensitivity as well a...

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Main Authors: Adam Maunder, Melany Mclean, Samuel Pichardo, G. Bruce Pike, Fraser J. L. Robb, Ashwin K. Iyer, Nicola de Zanche
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
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Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10960456/
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author Adam Maunder
Melany Mclean
Samuel Pichardo
G. Bruce Pike
Fraser J. L. Robb
Ashwin K. Iyer
Nicola de Zanche
author_facet Adam Maunder
Melany Mclean
Samuel Pichardo
G. Bruce Pike
Fraser J. L. Robb
Ashwin K. Iyer
Nicola de Zanche
author_sort Adam Maunder
collection DOAJ
description Magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) thermal ablation is a new method of non-invasive neurosurgery that can benefit from improved MR imaging performance. The ultrasound transducer shields the radio-frequency field of the body coil, reducing transmit and receive sensitivity as well as reducing transmit homogeneity. To improve the quality of structural imaging and the MR thermometry used to guide lesioning, we propose a dedicated 8-element receive array designed to work within the water bath of the ultrasound transducer helmet. The array consists of dipoles, consisting of flexible twin lead conductors, that pierce the water bath interface membrane, which forms a watertight seal around the patient’s head. In transmit mode, with the array detuned, no change in the transmit efficiency or homogeneity was observed, and simulation demonstrated no significant change in the 10g averaged specific absorption rate (SAR). In receive mode, the mean receive sensitivity within the brain was 5.7 times higher than that of the body coil. FUS heating is unaffected by the coil array, as demonstrated by an unaltered spread of the temperature at the FUS focal point. Finally, the precision of thermometry was improved by a factor of 2.25 in results from phantom imaging and a similar amount in in-vivo imaging.
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spelling doaj-art-92c3f7c83a7e4d6caa88abc7a58254a92025-08-20T02:18:29ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362025-01-0113675006751010.1109/ACCESS.2025.355905210960456An Eight-Channel MRI Head Coil Array for Enhanced MRI-Guided Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Imaging PerformanceAdam Maunder0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1161-8741Melany Mclean1Samuel Pichardo2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7919-8587G. Bruce Pike3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8924-683XFraser J. L. Robb4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1625-9709Ashwin K. Iyer5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5280-4751Nicola de Zanche6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4424-8430Physics Department, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, CanadaDepartments of Radiology and Clinical Neurosciences, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, CanadaDepartments of Radiology and Clinical Neurosciences, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, CanadaDepartments of Radiology and Clinical Neurosciences, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, CanadaAdvanced Coils, GE Healthcare Inc., Aurora, OH, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, CanadaDepartment of Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, CanadaMagnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) thermal ablation is a new method of non-invasive neurosurgery that can benefit from improved MR imaging performance. The ultrasound transducer shields the radio-frequency field of the body coil, reducing transmit and receive sensitivity as well as reducing transmit homogeneity. To improve the quality of structural imaging and the MR thermometry used to guide lesioning, we propose a dedicated 8-element receive array designed to work within the water bath of the ultrasound transducer helmet. The array consists of dipoles, consisting of flexible twin lead conductors, that pierce the water bath interface membrane, which forms a watertight seal around the patient’s head. In transmit mode, with the array detuned, no change in the transmit efficiency or homogeneity was observed, and simulation demonstrated no significant change in the 10g averaged specific absorption rate (SAR). In receive mode, the mean receive sensitivity within the brain was 5.7 times higher than that of the body coil. FUS heating is unaffected by the coil array, as demonstrated by an unaltered spread of the temperature at the FUS focal point. Finally, the precision of thermometry was improved by a factor of 2.25 in results from phantom imaging and a similar amount in in-vivo imaging.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10960456/Magnetic resonance imagingradio-frequency coilreceive arraydipolehigh-intensity focused ultrasoundspecific absorption rate
spellingShingle Adam Maunder
Melany Mclean
Samuel Pichardo
G. Bruce Pike
Fraser J. L. Robb
Ashwin K. Iyer
Nicola de Zanche
An Eight-Channel MRI Head Coil Array for Enhanced MRI-Guided Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Imaging Performance
IEEE Access
Magnetic resonance imaging
radio-frequency coil
receive array
dipole
high-intensity focused ultrasound
specific absorption rate
title An Eight-Channel MRI Head Coil Array for Enhanced MRI-Guided Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Imaging Performance
title_full An Eight-Channel MRI Head Coil Array for Enhanced MRI-Guided Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Imaging Performance
title_fullStr An Eight-Channel MRI Head Coil Array for Enhanced MRI-Guided Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Imaging Performance
title_full_unstemmed An Eight-Channel MRI Head Coil Array for Enhanced MRI-Guided Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Imaging Performance
title_short An Eight-Channel MRI Head Coil Array for Enhanced MRI-Guided Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Imaging Performance
title_sort eight channel mri head coil array for enhanced mri guided transcranial focused ultrasound imaging performance
topic Magnetic resonance imaging
radio-frequency coil
receive array
dipole
high-intensity focused ultrasound
specific absorption rate
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10960456/
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