Abstract #3810

Ultra-Low-Field MRI System for Hybrid MEG-MRI

Panu Tapani Vesanen¹, Juha Hassel², Jari S. Penttil³, Jaakko Oskari Nieminen¹, Juhani Dabek¹, Koos Zevenhoven¹, Juho Luomahaara², Sarianna Alanko¹, Nadia Catallo⁴, Fa-Hsuan Lin⁵, Juha Simola⁶, Antti Ahonen⁶, Risto J. Ilmoniemi¹

¹Dept. of Biomedical Engineering & Computational Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland; ²VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo, Finland; ³Aivon Oy, Espoo, Finland; ⁴Dept. of Health Sciences, University of LAquila, Italy; ⁵Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taiwan; ⁶Elekta Oy, Helsinki, Finland

In ultra-low-field MRI (ULF MRI), spins precess in microtesla magnetic fields, and the signal is measured by superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). Low fields offer several advantages compared to conventional MRI such as narrow line-widths, enhanced T1 contrast, imaging of objects in the presence of metal, and a possibility for simultaneous magnetoencephalography (MEG) measurement. In this work, we describe the current state of our multichannel ULF-MRI system. We present phantom images and discuss technical solutions for coil design in a magnetically shielded environment.