Circuits for magnetic resonance imaging systems for integrated parallel reception, excitation, and shimming

摘要

Systems, methods and devices are configured for integrated parallel reception, excitation, and shimming (iPRES). Parallel transmit/receive (which can include B₁ shimming and/or parallel imaging capabilities) and B₀ shimming employ the same set of localized coils or transverse electromagnetic (TEM) coil elements, with each coil or TEM element working in both an RF mode (for transmit/receive and B₁ shimming) and a direct current (DC) mode (for B₀ shimming) simultaneously. Both an RF and a DC current can flow in the same coil simultaneously but independently with no electromagnetic interference between the two modes. This invention is not only applicable when the same coil array is used for parallel transmit, receive and shim, but also when two separate coil arrays are used. In that case, the B₀ shimming capability can be integrated into one of the coil arrays (i.e. a transmit array with B₁ shimming capability or a receive array), thereby increasing the flexibility and practical utility of the iPRES technology.