How Reliable Are Computer Simulations for RF Power Deposition? an Experimental Verification of Numerical Simulations

Shizhe Li¹, Shumin Wang¹, Jun Shen¹

RF power absorption inside phantoms and human subjects has been studied extensively using numerical simulations. However, the calculated results have not been directly verified experimentally using identical conditions. In this study, we performed a numerical simulation and an experimental measurement of the RF power deposition on the same coil/phantom setup. A hybrid of FDTD and FE methods was applied in simulations. The actual absorbed power was measured on a 4.7 Tesla scanner. The calculated and measured results provide additional evidence that numerical simulation is a reliable method for estimating RF power deposition.