TY - JOUR
T1 - Imaging the Internal Auditory Canal with an 8 3 2 Transceiver Array Head Coil at 7T
AU - Nada, A.
AU - Cousins, J. P.
AU - Rivera, A.
AU - Carr, S. B.
AU - Jones, J.
AU - Minor, C.
AU - Hetherington, H. P.
AU - Kim, J. H.
AU - Pan, J. W.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 American Society of Neuroradiology. All rights reserved.
PY - 2025/4/1
Y1 - 2025/4/1
N2 - 7T neuroimaging has known problems with B11 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. B11, 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 B11 inferiorly compared with the whole brain while the transceiver maintained similar B11 throughout. SPACE images showed that the transceiver performed significantly better, e.g., the transceiver scored 4.0 6 0.8 in the left IAC, compared with 2.5 6 0.8 with the Nova 8/32. With T2-weighted imaging that places a premium on refocusing pulses, these results show that with improved B11 performance inferiorly, good visualization of the structure of the IAC and inferior brain regions is possible at 7T.
AB - 7T neuroimaging has known problems with B11 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. B11, 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 B11 inferiorly compared with the whole brain while the transceiver maintained similar B11 throughout. SPACE images showed that the transceiver performed significantly better, e.g., the transceiver scored 4.0 6 0.8 in the left IAC, compared with 2.5 6 0.8 with the Nova 8/32. With T2-weighted imaging that places a premium on refocusing pulses, these results show that with improved B11 performance inferiorly, good visualization of the structure of the IAC and inferior brain regions is possible at 7T.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105002406292
U2 - 10.3174/ajnr.A8569
DO - 10.3174/ajnr.A8569
M3 - Article
C2 - 40147834
AN - SCOPUS:105002406292
SN - 0195-6108
VL - 46
SP - 852
EP - 858
JO - American Journal of Neuroradiology
JF - American Journal of Neuroradiology
IS - 4
ER -