Abstract
PURPOSE: To develop and evaluate an (2)H/(1)H coil configuration that enables deuterium metabolic imaging at 7 T while preserving high-quality (1)H anatomical imaging. METHODS: An 16-channel (2)H high-impedance receive array was combined with a (2)H transmit birdcage and a 16-channel dual-row (1)H transceiver array. Electromagnetic simulations are used to assessed B(1) (+) efficiency and SAR. Phantom and in vivo experiments were performed on a Philips 7T system to evaluate transmit efficiency, signal-to-noise ratio, and signal coverage. RESULTS: Simulations results match with experimental ones, and they demonstrated good transmit efficiency, receive sensivity and image quality. In vivo 2H 3DMRSI map demonstrated whole brain coverage. CONCLUSION: The proposed coil configuration enables robust 2H metabolic imaging at 7T while preserving good 1H performance.