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
SP 852
OP 858
DO 10.3174/ajnr.A8569
VO 46
IS 4
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/46/4/852.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