Stefan Maderwald1,2, Stephan Orzada1,2, Andreas K. Bitz1,2, Oliver Kraff1,2, Irina Brote1,2, Jens M. Theysohn1,2, Mark E. Ladd1,2, Susanne C. Ladd1,2, Harald H. Quick1,2
1Erwin L. Hahn Institute for MRI, Essen, Germany; 2Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany
The high SNR of 7 T MRI in conjunction with a new figure-eight transmit/receive skin coil with a quadratic surface area of 7 x 7 cm2 opens up new perspectives for the noninvasive imaging and characterization of human skin. In-vivo MRI with high resolution (voxel volumes of 10-2 mm3 and smaller) was successfully performed in four healthy volunteers and was feasible within short examination times. The images were compared to a commercial 7-cm-inner-diameter single-loop transmit/receive coil. The custom-built skin coil combines a large FOV and restricted penetration depth with higher SNR and signal homogeneity.