# Integrated Next-generation RF Transmit, Receive and B0 shimming coil system for brain and spinal cord MRI at 7 Tesla

> **NIH NIH R01** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · 2024 · $412,125

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
This proposal is to develop a pre-shimmed parallel transmit array, an optimized receive array, and an RF/ΔB0
array to correct the severe B1 inhomogeneity, maximize the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and correct B0
inhomogeneity in simultaneous human brain and spinal cord MR imaging 7 Tesla (T). Simultaneous functional
imaging of the brain and spinal cord can provide valuable insight into interactions and processing pathways
between these organs in normal and abnormal states of spinal cord injury, chronic pain, and motor disease. It is
emerging as a new tool to study the central nervous system and is necessary to enable new investigations of
task-based and resting-state sensory/motor processing throughout the cerebrum and spinal cord and shed new
light on the nature of resting-state networks within the cerebellum and spinal cord. 7T MRI offers new
opportunities to visualize structures of interest with high spatial resolution and enhanced conspicuity and to
detect brain function and networks with greater sensitivity. However, at high fields, B1 and B0 inhomogeneities,
and the lack of optimized receive coils for some specific applications are major challenges that limit imaging
performance. Existed designs are aimed at either brain-only or spinal-cord-only applications, and none have
solved all the challenges mentioned above. Moreover, the performance of these designs is limited by the small
number of transmit channels available from scanner vendors, and a lack of optimization for actual imaging
applications. The first goal of this project is to build a pre-shimmed transmit array which compresses 48 basic
coils into 8-“virtual” coils with RF pulse jointly optimized weights, to maximize the transmit performance of
standard 8-transmit-channel 7 Tesla scanners. The second goal of this project is to build a close-fitting massive-
element receive array with optimum coil geometry/layout/size, to provide high SNR and excellent parallel imaging
performance in both the whole brain and the spinal cord. The third goal of this project is to build routing-optimized
low-profile RF/ΔB0 array to correct B0 inhomogeneity with less hardware complications. The optimization
algorithms, electromagnetic simulation models, and electric/mechanical designs of the final pre-shimmed
transmit array, high dense receive array and the routing-optimized ΔB0 arrays, will be distributed for open access.
These transmit, receive, and ΔB0 arrays do not depend on the vendors’ platform and can be easily transferred
to other 7T sites, with benefits for the entire community.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10844403
- **Project number:** 5R01EB031078-03
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Xinqiang Yan
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $412,125
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-08-15 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10844403

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10844403, Integrated Next-generation RF Transmit, Receive and B0 shimming coil system for brain and spinal cord MRI at 7 Tesla (5R01EB031078-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10844403. Licensed CC0.

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