Abstract:

In this paper, a gradient coil and ¹H/¹³C dual resonance RF coil system for small-bore magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is designed，which based on the independently developed 5 T MRI system to research ¹³C metabolic MRI. The gradient coil is designed by using the finite-difference stream function method, and the RF coil is designed as a saddle coil combined with a surface coil in a dual-resonance scheme. Numerical simulation analysis of the magnetic field distribution is carried out by using the finite-element method in this paper, and a set of gradient and RF coils for small-bore 5 T ¹³C MRI is successfully developed, the feasibility of the design scheme was verified using the self-developed 5 T MRI system platform, and the magnetic resonance images of ¹³C-labeled urea phantom and ¹H magnetic resonance images of mice head were acquired by experimental tests, which lays a foundation for ¹³C metabolic MRIbased on dynamic nuclear polarization in the future.

Key words: high-field MRI, 13C metabolic MRI, gradient coil, 1H/13C dual resonance coil, saddle coil, surface coil