Sodium and Proton Knee MRI using a 32 Channel Transmit and Receive Modular Array at 7.0 Tesla

Motivation: Overcome the limitations of current sodium/proton knee coil configurations using a flexible RF coil array systemGoal(s): Acceptance testing of a 32 channel (16 proton and 16 sodium) RF coil array and demonstrate applicability for sodium and proton MRI of the knee. Approach: 8 hexagonal modules (4 coils each) were assembled in a volumetric configuration, with sodium and proton MRI quality assessed for phantom and human knee imaging. Results: High quality sodium volumetric images of the knee were obtained while anatomical proton images were achieved using a standard TSE sequence with additional GRAPPA acceleration and without repositioningImpact: A 32 channel modular array has been demonstrated to be an effective and flexible solution for both proton and sodium MRI of the knee. Sodium sensitivity was optimised while maintaining proton performance sufficient to acquire accelerated high quality anatomical images.