Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) Based RF-Switches in MRI a Performance Study

Miguel Fuentes¹, Ewald Weber¹, Stephen Wilson¹, Bing Keong Li¹, Stuart Crozier¹

This work presents a method of controlling and switching multiple receiver coil-arrays in a manner that will reduce power consumption, relax cabling requirements and increase overall SNR through the use of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) RF switches. We have focused on parameters relevant to T/R switching applications in MR coil arrays. The MEMS devices evaluated here show favourable, quantifiable performance on the bench and in MR environment testing, and are found to be acceptable for use in multi-element coil switching roles.