Chad Tyler Harris1, William B. Handler1,
Blaine Alexander Chronik1
1Department of Physics and Astronomy,
University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
We
have implemented a boundary element method to design and analyze the
performance of curved gradient coil geometries as a function of the degree of
curvature over all three axes, varying continuously from planar to full
cylindrical. A form of curved gradient coil could serve as
anatomically-specific gradient channels to be used in conjunction with
whole-body coils to comprise a 4- to 6-channel hybrid system. The function of
the anatomically-specific channels could include the ability to provide very
high performance diffusion weighted imaging in a specified volume of tissue
such as the breast, prostate, or posterior regions of the brain.