Co-simulation approach for the design of MRIRF coils and its application to local SAR distribution

摘要

A new efficient approach to design RF coils for MRI is presented. As this numerical co-simulation approach is helpful in general, it could be very important for the development of coils for very high field, e.g. 7T MR scanners, where the wave length become comparable to the coil dimensions. The approach combines the electric circuit development including the matching network with the calculation of the Bt field which depends on the geometry of the coil. To objectively judge the quality of the design the homogeneity, uniformity, and the polarization of the induced field are important criteria [1]. As an example, the approach is applied for the design of high-pass brid cage coils in quadrature mode at IT. The quality of the Bj field is presented. In addition, the coil has been loaded with an inhomogeneous phantom as used for MR safety investigations and local absorption rates (SAR) are calculated which is additional information obtainable from numerical investigation of electromagnetic fields of RF coils.