A Modular MRI Probe Design for Large Rodent Neuroimaging at 21.1 T (900 MHz)

¹National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Tallahassee, FL, USA; ²McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; ³Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

MRI at high magnetic fields can facilitate investigation of biomedical processes in rodent brains. At the same time, high magnetic fields can become a headache for the MRI probe designer, partly because of the wavelength effects in the large sample and RF coil, but also because the animal life support system must be adapted to the smaller bore of a higher field magnet. We report the design of a MRI probe (56 mm OD) developed for in vivo imaging of adult rat brain at 21.1 Tesla, inside the 900 MHz vertical magnet system at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.