Degenerate Birdcage Coil Mixed with Bent Dipole Antennas to Enhance Central SNR in Phosphorus MRI/MRS of Human Brain at 7T

Dipole antennas can be combined with loop elements to increase a central SNR in human brain MRI at 7T (300MHz). However, this approach was not investigated at lower frequencies. In this study a degenerate birdcage coil was combined with a pair of bent dipole antennas to increase a central SNR for phosphorus MRS of human brain at 7T (120MHz). Simulations showed that this approach could provide a 1.6-fold central SNR gain vs. degenerate birdcage-only. The RF coil was constructed and successfully tested at the bench. In the next step, an experimental validation of the proposed strategy will be performed.