MRI is a versatile tool for systematically assessing anatomical and functional changes in small animal models of human disease. Its noninvasive nature makes MRI an ideal candidate for longitudinal evaluations of disease progression, but relatively long scan times limit the number of observations that can be made in a given interval of time, imposing restrictions on experiment design and potentially compromising statistical power. Methods that reduce the overall time that is required to scan multiple cohorts of animals in distinct experimental groups are therefore highly desirable. Multiple-mouse MRI, in which several animals are simultaneously scanned in a common MRI system, has been successfully used to improve study throughput. However, to best utilize the next generation of small-animal MRI systems that will be equipped with an increased number of receive channels, a paradigm shift from simultaneously scanning as many animals as possible to scanning a more manageable number, at a faster rate, must be considered. This work explores the tradeoffs between the number of animals to scan at once and the number of array elements dedicated to each animal, to maximize throughput in systems with 16 receive channels. An array system consisting of 15 receive and five transmit coils allows acceleration by a combination of multi-animal and parallel imaging techniques. The array system was designed and fabricated for use on a 7.0-T/30-cm Bruker Biospec MRI system, and tested for high-throughput imaging performance in phantoms and live mice. Results indicate that up to a ninefold throughput improvement of a single sequence is possible compared to an unaccelerated single-animal acquisition. True data throughput of a contrast-enhanced anatomical study is estimated to be improved by just over six-fold.
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