A platform consisting of a dual-echo 3D echo-planar pulse sequence and a custom coil system was implemented and tested for metabolic imaging of breast cancer. A two-channel unilateral breast 13C receive array was designed for integration with the Sentinelle Vanguard Breast MRI system. A single-loop coil was designed for RF excitation. The highly ergonomic design enables the operator to swap between proton and 13C breast coils without moving the patient, providing intrinsically registered anatomical and metabolic data. Phantom data and hyperpolarized 13C pre-clinical rat images were obtained and are presented. The proposed coil system represents important progress towards a viable breast cancer patient study.
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