Design of Phased Array and Multiple Coil Probes for High Frequency Magnetic Resonance Microscopy and Spectroscopy

In terms of magnetic resonance imaging, recent developments in the field of phased array coils have also been used to increase sensitivity. Typically, such an arrangement requires a homogeneous transmit coil, with the array being used only for signal reception. In this thesis a more flexible arrangement has been designed, in which a four-coil transmit/receive system has been designed for microimaging studies at 200 MHz. This design also removes the requirement for specialized preamplifiers that are normally integrated into phased arrays. At high frequencies, for imaging samples with large volume, e.g., mice and plants, phased array technology is particularly suitable to increase the SNR, compared with conventional probe designs. A transmit-receive phased array probe has been designed for imaging studies at 600 MHz, with a balanced coil configuration and low-loss capacitive decoupling. MRI samples with a large length-to-diameter ratio, such as plant stems, can be imaged with high SNR. A 600-MHz surface phased array probe has been designed to work with a large transmit coil for MRI experiments of samples where high localized resolution is desired, such as spinal cord imaging in mice. This probe is also suitable for studies of organs such as the heart.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Electrical Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Zhang, Xiaozhong

Contributors dc:contributor

• Andrew G. Webb

• Engineering, Electronics and Electrical

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3131061

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/80866