A Scalable Simulcast X-nuclei MRI System for Concurrent Multi-Frequency Transmit/Receive

Motivation: Current in vivo imaging equipment struggles to obtain multi-molecular information on diseases, particularly malignant tumors, hindering the study of their underlying molecular mechanisms. Goal(s): To develop a novel simulcast X-nuclei MRI system for in vivo visualization of multi-molecular level information. Approach: A modular multiband parallel transceiver console was designed based on PCIe bus architecture, and a four-frequency array RF coil was developed. The system's functionality was validated through phantom and rabbit imaging. Results: Simultaneous 1H/19F/23Na-MRI and 31P-MRSI were successfully achieved in a single scan with the simulcast X-nuclei MRI system. Impact: Simultaneous and rapidly interleaved acquisition of signals from 1H/19F/23Na/31P were achieved with our Simulcast X-nuclei MRI system, which provides inspiring possibilities for in vivo simultaneously characterizing lesion site structure, molecular targets, ion perturbations and energy metabolism information.