Sung Man Moon1, J. Rock Hadley1, Kenneth Craig Goodrich1, Dennis L. Parker1
1UCAIR (Utah Center for Advanced Imaging Research), Radiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Serious demands for high performance gradient coils for magnetic resonance imaging have led to the introduction and evaluation of planar and elliptical gradient coils. Cylindrical gradient coils are the current industry standard and give a wide homogeneous imaging region and the most room for patient access. Elliptical gradient coils can attain higher efficiency and lower inductance, leading to higher spatial and temporal resolution in some applications. In spite of the potential increased performance, there have been few if any studies comparing cylindrical and elliptical gradient systems. In this study, we have compared cylindrical and elliptical gradient coil design to assess the relative advantages of each.