Development of a Stereotactic Radiosurgery Frame Adapter for a Multichannel MRI Coil

<b><i>Background:</i></b> The usage of multichannel brain MRI coils, which have several advantages over single-channel brain coils used for stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), requires a frame adapter device to fit the frames inside the multichannel brain coils. However, such a frame adapter has not been developed until now. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> to develop an SRS frame adapter for multichannel MRI coils and verify the geometrical accuracy and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the MR images obtained using multichannel MRI coils. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We fabricated an SRS frame adapter for a 48-channel MRI coil using a three-dimensional (3D) printer. Furthermore, we obtained phantom and human-brain MR images with a 3.0 Tesla MRI scanner using multi- and single-channel coils. Computed tomography (CT) phantom images were also obtained as reference. We compared the coordinate errors of the multi- and single-channel coils to evaluate the geometrical accuracy. Two neurosurgeons measured the coordinates. In addition, we compared the SNR differences between multi- and single-channel coils using the T1- and T2-weighted brain images. <b><i>Results:</i></b> For the CT coordinate measurements, the correlation coefficient <i>r</i> = 1 and <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001 with respect to the 3 axes (Δ<i>x</i>, Δ<i>y</i>, and Δ<i>z</i>) and 3D errors (Δ<i>r</i>) showed no interpersonal differences between the 2 neurosurgeons. The results obtained using the T1-weighted images showed that a multichannel coil had smaller coordinate errors in Δ<i>x</i>, Δ<i>y</i>, Δ<i>z</i>, and Δ<i>r</i> than that observed in case of a single-channel coil (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). In case of the SNR measurements, most of the brain areas showed higher SNRs when using a multichannel coil compared with that observed when using a single-channel coil in the T1- and T2-weighted images. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Compared with single-channel coils, the use of multichannel MRI coils with a newly developed frame adapter is expected to ensure successful SRS treatments with improved geometrical accuracy and SNR.

Temporal signal-to-noise changes in combined multiband- and slice-accelerated echo-planar imaging with a 20- and 64-channel coil

Echo planar imaging (EPI) is the most common method of functional magnetic resonance imaging for acquiring the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) contrast. One of the primary benefits of using EPI is that an entire volume of the brain can be acquired on the order of two seconds. However, this speed benefit comes with a cost. Because imaging protocols are limited by hardware (e.g., fast gradient switching), researchers are forced to compromise between spatial resolution, temporal resolution, or whole-brain coverage. Earlier attempts to circumvent this problem included developing protocols in which slices of a volume were acquired faster (i.e., slice (S) acceleration), while more recent protocols allow for multiple slices to be acquired simultaneously (i.e., multiband (MB) acceleration). However, applying such acceleration methods can lead to a reduction in the temporal signal-to-noise ratio (tSNR), which is a critical measure of the stability of the signal over time. Here we show, in five healthy subjects, using a 20- and 64-channel receiver coil, that enabling S-acceleration consistently yielded, as expected, a substantial decrease in tSNR, regardless of the receiver coil employed, whereas tSNR decrease resulting from MB acceleration was less pronounced. Specifically, with the 20-channel coil, tSNR of upto 4-fold MB-acceleration is comparable to that of no acceleration, while up to 6-fold MB-acceleration with the 64-channel coil yields comparable tSNR to that of no acceleration. Moreover, observed tSNR losses tended to be localized to temporal, insular, and medial brain regions and were more noticeable in the 20-than in the 64-channel coil. Conversely, with the 64-channel coil, the tSNR in lateral frontoparietal regions remained relatively stable with increasing MB factors. Such methodological explorations can inform researchers and clinicians as to how they can optimize imaging protocols depending on the available hardware and the brain regions they want to investigate.