Ellipsoidal coil for magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Abstract

We developed an ellipse-shaped surface coil for magnetic resonance spectroscopy for a 1.5 T clinical MR Imager. This coil is to be used to obtain spectra from arms and legs. Standard volume and single-loop coils provide a poor signal because they can not be placed close to the region of interest and their shapes do not fit the anatomy of human extremities. The coil design proposed has more anatomical shape which allows to be placed closer to the region of interest. A higher signal-to-noise ratio can then be achieved resulting in better-quality spectra. Spectra from a phantom and from the arm of a healthy volunteer were acquired to show viability, A 1.5 T clinical scanner (Signa LX equipped with V. 5.8, General Electric Medical System) together with standard spin-echo sequences were used to perform all the spectroscopy experiments. This receiver coil can generate high resolution MR spectra of a spectroscopy phantom and is fully compatible with clinical magnetic resonance systems and standard pulse sequences.