Abstract #3557

Mekle R, Gruetter R

Dedicated hardware, such as transverse electromagnetic (TEM) volume radiofrequency (rf)-coils, have been developed to exploit the inherent advantage of an enhanced signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at higher fields. Such TEM coils have been successfully utilized at B04T. Since 3T MRI scanners have emerged as valuable clinical and research tools, the goal of this study was to evaluate a TEM head coil in comparison with an 8 channel head array coil on a 3T system. In conclusion, phantom and human head data indicate favorable SNR values for the 8 channel coil at the cost of increased image intensity variations and rf-power deposition.