The “MR Bra”: Development of a support device for supine breast imaging with commercially available flexible body coils

Motivation: Many women find conventional prone breast imaging uncomfortable. We developed a support device (the ‘MR Bra’) to enable supine breast imaging using existing flex coils, without breast compression. Goal(s): We aimed to evaluate the comfort of the MR bra and asses its SNR performance and structure visualisation capability. Approach: Two prototypes were developed. Healthy participants were scanned prone with the breast coil and supine using the flex coil and MR bra. The application of negative pressure was assessed with additional imaging. Results: The MR bra produced reduced, but acceptable, SNR values and improved patient comfort whilst enabling good visualisation of breast tissue structure. Impact: The MR bra enables comfortable supine breast imaging using readily-available flexible body coils whilst maintaining acceptable SNR values. Negative pressure to elongate the breast structure promises improved tissue visualisation. Further prototype development and evaluation of lesion identification is now underway.