7T Imaging of the Head &Neck Region: B0 &B1+ Challenges

Johanna Jacoba Bluemink¹, Anna Andreychenko¹, Astrid L. H. M. W. van Lier¹, Marielle Phillippens¹, Jan J. W. Lagendijk¹, Peter R. Luijten², Cornelis A. T. van Den Berg¹

The head and neck (H&N) region is challenging to image due to air cavities that distort the B0 field. At 7T better a SNR can be obtained, but susceptibility effects are increased and for the H&N region no commercial 7T transmit coils are available. Two setups, a volume T/R coil placed near the neck and a traveling wave setup are compared in transmit performance. With the volume T/R coil sufficient B1+ can be obtained for SE in the nasopharynx and the oropharynx. The traveling wave setup can cover a larger volume, but the maximum B1+ obtained was only 3T.