Comparing Performance of a New 50-Channel Pelvic Coil to that of the 30-Channel Anterior Array Coil for MRI of the Prostate

Motivation: Increased SNR and artifact reduction in diffusion- and T2-weighted images can increase performance of multiparametric-MRI (mpMRI) of the prostate. Goal(s): To evaluate image quality, degree of artifacts, and signal- and contrast-to-noise ratios of diffusion- and T2-weighted images obtained using the new 50-channel-pelvic coil. Approach: Matched diffusion- and T2-weighted MR images of 6 men obtained at 3T using the new pelvic and standard anterior-array coils were evaluated. Results: SNR and CNR of diffusion- and T2-weighted images were higher for the 50-channel pelvic coil. Image quality and artifact scores of the high b-value diffusion- and T2-weighted images were generally higher for the 50-channel pelvic coil. Impact: The 50-channel pelvic coil demonstrated higher image quality, SNR, and CNR and lower artifact levels in DWI/ADC and T2-weighted images, the most diagnostic sequences for prostate MRI. This can improve detection of prostate cancer and confidence of extraprostatic extension evaluation.