Md Shahadat Hossain Akram1, Takayuki Obata1, Mikio Suga2, Fumihiko Nishikido1, Eiji Yoshida1, and Taiga Yamaya1
Simultaneous PET/MRI system has attracted much because of its both
functional and anatomic imaging capability. In our laboratory, we have
developed a human head-size PET/RF-coil integrated modality to be used with
existing clinical 3T MRI system (Siemens Magnetom Verio). Eight PET detector
modules are integrated with a cylindrical 8-element Birdcage RF coil for
simultaneous PET and MRI imaging. In the design each detector has been
integrated in between two coil elements.
RF interference to PET detector circuits affects
PET performance. Also noise generated from PET circuits affects MR image
quality. For proper simultaneous operation, PET circuits in each
detector-module were installed inside a copper-shielded box. But shielding
materials very close to RF coil elements and close to imaging region adversely
affects MR imaging quality. In this study we performed Bo and SAR calculation of our hybrid system. Though there have noticeable changes in the Bo values, the SAR remains very low.
