Self-contained Small Animal Imaging Insert for Clinical MRI Systems

Motivation: To enable small animal imaging studies at clinical field strength and systems, for improving transferability and duty cycle of human scanners. Goal(s): Introducing an easy-to-use system that allows for positioning, monitoring, heating and local SNR enhancement, enabling small animals scans. Approach: Using inductively coupled resonant structures, a wire free local sensitivity enhancement of the hosts built-in coils is achieved. A fixation and holder system with adapters to connect ECG and breathing bellows to the host were designed. Results: Local SNR enhancement of up to 32 in comparison to the inbuilt coils is reached. ECG and respiratory gating allowed for triggered in-vivo scans. Impact: The easy-to-use system shows adequate SNR for imaging mice in-vivo. The possibility of using the clinical scanners console, sequences, the main magnetic field and the gradient system, allows for a high degree of transferability between preclinical and clinical trials.