Improvement in Receive Sensitivity at Ultra-High Field in Brain via Metasurfaces

Motivation: Quantification of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) spectra requires sufficient SNR to detect changes in metabolic state. At ultra-high field, low concentration metabolite require length scan times to obtain sufficient SNR. Goal(s): To use a novel metasurface design to enhance the B1- receive sensitivity in phantom and in vivo brain proton spectroscopy data at 7T, resulting in increased SNR without additional scan time. Approach: Receive sensitivity enhancement was measured in phantom and in vivo experiments with and without the metasurface present. Results: The metasurfaces enhanced phantom spectral SNR by an average of 58%, while in vivo spectral SNR was improved on average by 38%. Impact: The work impacts 7T spectroscopy techniques by improving the inherent receive sensitivity, yielding higher SNR spectra. Future work will focus on demonstrating this application in patent populations to reduce scan times and enhance the signal from low concentration metabolites.