Coil Sensitivity Estimation and Complex Image Combination for 96-Channel Receive Array at 7T

Motivation: High density receive arrays can improve SNR and parallel imaging capability; however, they also introduce significant image reconstruction challenges. Goal(s): We aim to find a reconstruction method that will produce consistent and high-quality complex images for high-channel-count receive arrays at 7T. Approach: Several existing sensitivity map estimation methods and coil combination methods were tested for 8-channel and 32-channel datasets, and an ultrahigh resolution 96-channel dataset acquired at 7T. Results: Existing reconstruction methods did not produce consistent results for the 96-channel dataset. Compression of high-quality sensitivity maps reduced data size by a factor of 100 while maintaining image quality. Impact: This work explores the unique reconstruction challenges in high-channel-count receive arrays by assessing performance of existing reconstruction techniques on an ultrahigh resolution dataset acquired with a 96-channel receive array, establishing a need for more research in effective reconstruction methods.