Evaluation of MRI performance and PET compatibility of a 32 channel coil for the Siemens Biograph mMR PET/MRI scanner

We evaluate MRI and PET performance of the novel Siemens 32 channel head coil for the Siemens Biograph mMR. Results are compared to the system standard 12 channel coil. MRI performance (SNR) was improved with the 32 channel coil. PET image uniformity was not impacted. ROI analysis of the PET data indicated a 5% underestimation of activity concentration in the 32 channel coil, however this difference was mitigated by the use of an image derived reference region. Any small differences in PET performance introduced by the 32 channel coil are far outweighed by the superior MRI performance of this coil.