Potassium birdcage resonator design for multi-nuclear imaging at 7T

Motivation: Potassium(39K) imaging provides an opportunity to probe cellular processes and has recently been demonstrated in human calf muscle at 7TGoal(s): Developing an in-house birdcage resonator for potassium imaging, enabling simultaneous imaging with proton/sodium using previously developed dipole/loop array. Approach: A low-pass eight-rung birdcage resonator was constructed using copper strip, chosen for its high Q factor. The resonator was optimized for maximum power efficiency and phantom images were acquired at 7T. Results: The birdcage resonator demonstrated exceptional tuning and matching on the bench, with a homogeneous phantom image acquired in around 6 minutes. The findings suggest significant potential for in-vivo potassium quantification. Impact: A birdcage resonator was designed and constructed in-house to create a capability for enhanced potassium imaging for neurological, musculoskeletal and oncology research. Potential integration with 1H/23Na array would allow simultaneous acquisition with three nuclei.