Tanja Platt1, Thomas M Fiedler1, Armin M Nagel1,2, Andreas K Bitz1, Peter Bachert1, Mark E Ladd1,3, and Reiner Umathum1
1Medical Physics in Radiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany, 2Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Medical Center Ulm, Ulm, Germany, 3Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
Up to now only a few 23Na
abdominal MRI studies have been performed at 7T. In this work, a versatile 23Na
transceive elliptical-shaped body coil for 7T with a large FOV and a high transmit/receive efficiency was designed, simulated, and implemented on a 7T scanner. The setup was
applied for in-vivo imaging of the human torso. The obtained 3D 23Na image data
set contains 23Na signals from heart to pelvis. High regional 23Na signals are especially
present in the areas of kidney, liver, cartilage, vessels, vertebral disks,
spinal canal, and heart.