Title :
Use of High-Tc Superconducting Tape RF Coils for Non-invasive Fiber Tracking on Diffusion Tensor MRI application
Author :
Lin, In-Tsang ; Hsieh, Chang-Wei ; Kuo, Li-Wei ; Chang, Wei-Hao ; Chen, Jyh-Horng ; Yang, Hong-Chang ; Horng, Herng-Er
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng., Nat. Taiwan Univ., Taipei
Abstract :
High-temperature superconducting (HTS) coil is one of the best ways to increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3Ox (Bi-2223) tapes were suitable to use because of the easier fabrications and lower cost. In this study, we built HTS Bi-2223 tape coils and demonstrated that the SNR of using the HTS tape coil was 3 or 4 folds higher than that of the traditional copper coil for a rat brain MR study. Acquisition time of MR diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can be reduced by factor of 9 for the same signal-to-noise. Accuracy of fiber tracking using DTI is also significantly improved by a factor of 2.5 or so using HTS coil. In summary, with this HTSC system, a 3 T MR system could reach the high signal-to-noise of 12 T MR system with the advantage of less T2 shortening effects at high field. Currents researches are focused on brain connectivity and fMRI studies.
Keywords :
biomedical MRI; high-temperature superconductors; superconducting coils; superconducting tapes; HTS tape coil; diffusion tensor MRI; high-temperature superconducting coil; noninvasive fiber tracking; rat brain; signal-to-noise ratio; tape RF coils; Costs; Diffusion tensor imaging; Fabrication; High temperature superconductors; Magnetic resonance imaging; Radio frequency; Signal to noise ratio; Superconducting coils; Superconducting films; Tensile stress; Bi-2223; DTI; HTS; MRI;
Conference_Titel :
TENCON 2005 2005 IEEE Region 10
Conference_Location :
Melbourne, Qld.
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-9311-2
Electronic_ISBN :
0-7803-9312-0
DOI :
10.1109/TENCON.2005.301235