Zhigang You1, Wingchi Edmund Kwok1
1Department of Imaging Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States
For rat brain MRI studies, clinical scanners offer the advantages of reducing field inhomogeneity and susceptibility artifacts associated with high-field small-bored systems and the studies are more translational for human applications. However, obtaining sufficient SNR and resolution on clinical scanners is challenging. Therefore, we developed a dedicated 3D-orthogonal phased-array receive coil for rat brain imaging at 3T. Compared to a commercial 4cm surface coil, our coil provides higher and more uniform signal, significantly improving image quality and resolution. Our coil is also compatible with parallel imaging to reduce scan time. It should be useful for high-resolution imaging of rat brain.