Insertable, dual-density dielectric barrier for acoustic pressure level reduction in a high-performance human head-only MRI system.

We report use of a dual-density dielectric barrier surrounding a detachable high-pass radiofrequency (RF) birdcage coil to achieve an order-of-magnitude reduction of acoustic noise in a high-performance head gradient system. The barrier consisted of a 4.5 mm-thick mass-loaded vinyl and a 6 mm-thick polyurethane foam. It was inserted into the radial gap between the birdcage coil and the RF shield in a prototype head-only gradient system at 3 T. More than 9 dBA reduction of sound pressure level was achieved on the average with representative, high acoustic-noise imaging sequences. Increased acoustic damping was apparent from acoustic impulse response functions. High dielectric constant of the mass-loaded vinyl effectively added distributed capacitance to the birdcage coil, lowering the resonance frequency, but not seriously degrading the RF transmission performance. The barrier occupied the radial space normally used for air cooling of the RF coil and the RF shield. The resulting omission of air cooling was found to be acceptable with efficient gradient thermal management and use of a high-resistivity RF shield for eddy current reduction. The proposed method can improve patient experience while preserving image quality in a high-power head-only gradient system.

Modeling and measurement of lead tip heating and resonant length for implanted, insulated wires.

PURPOSE: To study implant lead tip heating because of the RF power deposition by developing mathematical models and comparing them with measurements acquired at 1.5 T and 3 T, especially to predict resonant length. THEORY AND METHODS: A simple exponential model and an adapted transmission line model for the electric field transfer function were developed. A set of wavenumbers, including that calculated from insulated antenna theory (King wavenumber) and that of the embedding medium were considered. Experiments on insulated, capped wires of varying lengths were performed to determine maximum temperature rise under RF exposure. The results are compared with model predictions from analytical expressions derived under the assumption of a constant electric field, and with those numerically calculated from spatially varying, simulated electric fields from body coil transmission. Simple expressions for the resonant length bounded between one-quarter and one-half wavelength are developed based on the roots of transcendental equations. RESULTS: The King wavenumber for both models more closely matched the experimental data with a maximum root mean square error of 9.81°C at 1.5 T and 5.71°C at 3 T compared to other wavenumbers with a maximum root mean square error of 27.52°C at 1.5 T and 22.01°C for 3 T. Resonant length was more accurately predicted compared to values solely based on the embedding medium. CONCLUSION: Analytical expressions were developed for implanted lead heating and resonant lengths under specific assumptions. The value of the wavenumber has a strong effect on the model predictions. Our work could be used to better manage implanted device lead tip heating.

Evaluation of a compact 3 T MRI scanner for patients with implanted devices.

Access to high-quality MR exams is severely limited for patients with some implanted devices due to labeled MR safety conditions, but small-bore systems can overcome this limitation. For example, a compact 3 T MR scanner (C3T) with high-performance gradients can acquire exams of the head, extremities, and infants. Because of its reduced bore size and the patient being advanced only partially into the bore, the associated electromagnetic (EM) fields drop off rapidly caudal to the head, compared to whole-body systems. Therefore, some patients with MR conditional implanted devices can safely receive 3 T brain exams on the C3T using its strong gradients and a multiple-channel receive coil, while a corresponding exam on whole-body MR is precluded. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of a small-bore scanner for subjects with MR conditional spinal or sacral nerve stimulators, or abandoned cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) leads. The spatial dependence of specific absorption rate (SAR) on the C3T was compared to whole-body scanners. A device assessment tool was developed and applied to evaluate MR safety individually on the C3T for 12 subjects with implanted devices or abandoned CIED leads. Once MR safety was established, the subjects received a C3T brain exam along with their clinical, 1.5 T exam. The resulting images were graded by three board-certified neuroradiologists. The C3T exams were well-tolerated with no adverse events, and significantly outperformed the whole-body 1.5 T exams in terms of overall image quality.

Validation of MR thermometry: method for temperature probe sensor registration accuracy in head and neck phantoms.

PURPOSE: Magnetic resonance thermometry (MRT) is an attractive means to non-invasively monitor in vivo temperature during head and neck hyperthermia treatments because it can provide multi-dimensional temperature information with high spatial resolution over large regions of interest. However, validation of MRT measurements in a head and neck clinical set-up is crucial to ensure the temperature maps are accurate. Here we demonstrate a unique approach for temperature probe sensor localisation in head and neck hyperthermia test phantoms. METHODS: We characterise the proton resonance frequency shift temperature coefficient and validate MRT measurements in an oil-gel phantom by applying a combination of MR imaging and 3D spline fitting for accurate probe localisation. We also investigate how uncertainties in both the probe localisation and the proton resonance frequency shift (PRFS) thermal coefficient affect the registration of fibre-optic reference temperature probe and MRT readings. RESULTS: The method provides a two-fold advantage of sensor localisation and PRFS thermal coefficient calibration. We provide experimental data for two distinct head and neck phantoms showing the significance of this method as it mitigates temperature probe localisation errors and thereby increases accuracy of MRT validation results. CONCLUSIONS: The techniques presented here may be used to simplify calibration experiments that use an interstitial heating device, or any heating method that provides rapid and spatially localised heat distributions. Overall, the experimental verification of the data registration and PRFS thermal coefficient calibration technique provides a useful benchmarking method to maximise MRT accuracy in any similar context.

Coherent NMR Stark spectroscopy.

We demonstrate phase-coherent Stark effects from a radiofrequency E field at twice the NMR frequency (2ω(0)) of (69)Ga in GaAs. The 2ω(0) phase (ϕ(E)) selects component responses from the nuclear quadrupole Hamiltonian (H(Q)). This is possible by synchronizing few-µs 2ω(0) pulses with an NMR line-narrowing sequence, which averages the Stark interaction to dominate spectra on a background with 10(3)× enhanced resolution. Spectra vs ϕ(E) reveal relative sizes of tensorial factors in H(Q). Comparative modeling and numerical simulations evaluate spectral features unexplained by average Hamiltonian theory, and suggest improvements for quantitative calibration of individual response components. Application of this approach to bulk samples is of value to define Stark responses that may later be used to interrogate the internal electrostatics of structured samples.

Quantitative calibration of radiofrequency NMR Stark effects.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) Stark responses can occur in quadrupolar nuclei for an electric field oscillating at twice the usual NMR frequency (2ω(0)). Calibration of responses to an applied E field is needed to establish nuclear spins as probes of native E fields within material and molecular systems. We present an improved approach and apparatus for accurate measurement of quadrupolar Stark effects. Updated values of C(14) (the response parameter in cubic crystals) were obtained for both (69)Ga and (75)As in GaAs. Keys to improvement include a modified implementation of voltage dividers to assess the 2ω(0) amplitude, |E|, and the stabilization of divider response by reduction of stray couplings in 2ω(0) circuitry. Finally, accuracy was enhanced by filtering sets of |E| through a linear response function that we established for the radiofrequency amplifier. Our approach is verified by two types of spectral results. Steady-state 2ω(0) excitation to presaturate NMR spectra yielded C(14) = (2.59 ± 0.06) × 10(12) m(-1) for (69)Ga at room-temperature and 14.1 T. For (75)As, we obtained (3.1 ± 0.1) × 10(12) m(-1). Both values reconcile with earlier results from 77 K and below 1 T, whereas current experiments are at room temperature and 14.1 T. Finally, we present results where few-microsecond pulses of the 2ω(0) field induced small (tens of Hz) changes in high-resolution NMR line shapes. There too, spectra collected vs |E| agree with the model for response, further establishing the validity of our protocols to specify |E|.

Enhancing time-suspension sequences for the measurement of weak perturbations.

We detail key features for implementation of time-suspension multiple-pulse line-narrowing sequences. This sequence class is designed to null the average Hamiltonian (H¯(°)) over the period of the multiple-pulse cycle, typically to provide for high-resolution isolation of evolution from a switched interaction, such as field gradients for imaging or small sample perturbations. Sequence designs to further ensure null contributions from correction terms (H¯((¹)) and H¯(²)) of the Magnus expansion are also well known, as are a variety of approaches to second averaging, the process by which diagonal content is incorporated in H¯(°) to truncate unwanted terms. In spite of such designs, we observed spin evolution not explicable by H¯(°) using 16-, 24- and 48-pulse time-suspension sequences. We found three approaches to effectively remove artifacts that included splitting of the lineshape into unexpected multiplets as well as chirped evolution. The noted approaches are simultaneously compatible for combination of their benefits. The first ensures constant power deposition from RF excitation as the evolution period is incremented. This removes chirping and allows more effective 2nd averaging. Two schemes for the latter are evaluated: the noted introduction of a diagonal term in H¯(°), and phase-stepping the line-narrowing sequence on successive instances during the evolution period. Either of these was sufficient to remove artifactual splittings and to further enhance resolution, while in combination enhancements were maintained. Finally, numerical simulations provide evidence that our experimental line-narrowing results with 75As in crystalline GaAs approach performance limits of idealized sequences (e.g., with ideal square pulses, etc.). The three noted experimental techniques should likewise benefit ultimate implementation with switched interactions and corresponding new error contributions, which place further demand on sequence performance.

Radiofrequency quadrupolar NMR stark spectroscopy: steady state response calibration and tensorial mapping.

Radiofrequency electric (E) fields oscillating at twice the usual NMR frequency (2ω(0)) can induce double-quantum transitions in quadrupolar nuclei, an NMR Stark effect. Characterization of such is of interest to aid understanding of electrostatic effects in NMR spectra. Calibration of Stark responses to an applied electric field may also be used to assess native fields within molecules and materials. We present high-field (14.1 T), room-temperature NMR experiments to calibrate the 2ω(0) Stark response in crystalline GaAs. This system presents an important test of current techniques and conditions, as historical studies at low field (500-900 mT) and low temperature (77 K) provide a basis for comparison. Our measurements of steady state response reveal the quadrupolar Stark tuning rate for (69)Ga in this material. The value, ß(Q) = (11.5 ± 0.1) × 10(12) m(-1), is 3.6 times larger than the most-reliable prior result. In the process, we also uncovered a previously unobserved double-quantum steady state coherence. It appears as a completely separable dispersive signal component in quadrature-detected presaturation spectra versus offset from 2ω(0). The new component may eventually afford an independent route to calibrating ß(Q). Finally, we demonstrated exceptional agreement with theory of the orientation-dependent Stark response for rotation of the sample relative to B(0) over a range of 90° and for E-field amplitudes from 30-180 V/cm.

A system for NMR stark spectroscopy of quadrupolar nuclei.

Electrostatic influences on NMR parameters are well accepted. Experimental and computational routes have been long pursued to understand and utilize such Stark effects. However, existing approaches are largely indirect informants on electric fields, and/or are complicated by multiple causal factors in spectroscopic change. We present a system to directly measure quadrupolar Stark effects from an applied electric (E) field. Our apparatus and applications are relevant in two contexts. Each uses a radiofrequency (rf) E field at twice the nuclear Larmor frequency (2omega(0)). The mechanism is a distortion of the E-field gradient tensor that is linear in the amplitude (E(0)) of the rf E field. The first uses 2omega(0) excitation of double-quantum transitions for times similar to T(1) (the longitudinal spin relaxation time). This perturbs the steady state distribution of spin population. Nonlinear analysis versus E(0) can be used to determine the Stark response rate. The second context uses POWER (perturbations observed with enhanced resolution) NMR. Here, coherent, short-time (<