Inductively induced triple-frequency tuned transceiver coil for multinuclear imaging at 7T

Motivation: Great potentials arise from multinuclear imaging modalities of 2H, 17O, 31P and 1H, which could depict the complexity of tissue and physiopathology related to the disease progression from multiple dimensions. Goal(s): To develop a triple-tuned RF coil which can operate at three resonant frequencies of interest (2H, 17O, and 1H) or (2H, 31P and 1H). Approach: A triple-frequency tuned RF coil was developed and simultaneously tuned and match to three resonant frequencies, and evaluated using a head-size phantom at 7T. Results: We demonstrated a novel triple-frequency tuned coil design with robust imaging results for all three imaging frequencies. Impact: As deuterium MRS imaging (DMRSI) is gaining more attention for brain tumor imaging, this triple-frequency tuned coil design can help add another X-nuclear frequency to the current DMRSI coil design, thus creating additional contrast for the brain tumor diagnosis.