Xinqiang Yan1,2, Feng Wang1,2, Ken Wilkens1,2, Daniel Colvin1,2, Li Min Chen1,2, and John C. Gore1,2
1Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, 2Radiology and Radiological Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
Simultaneous imaging of spinal cord and brain potentially provides valuable information about how they work together and visualizes their interactions. However, to date, almost all image studies have investigated these two highly interconnected systems in separations, due mainly to the lack of an adequate imaging hardware. In this work, we designed and fabricated a volume T/R and surface Rx-only coil which can significantly increase the SNR around the spinal cord while simultaneously acquiring whole brain images. It needs only two receive channels and operates in a highly restricted volume, making it suitable for the small animal scanner.
