Improved multinuclear parallel transmit optimization using multinuclear virtual observation points

Motivation: Managing peak local SAR for pTx-enabled studies at UHF is challenging, especially for multinuclear acquisitions. Goal(s): To evaluate the feasibility and potential advantages of multinuclear VOPs for pTx optimizations in multinuclear studies. Approach: Simulation data was used to perform L-curve analyses to quantify the achievable minimal excitation errors at different peak 10g local SAR levels using both mononuclear and multinuclear VOPs. Results: Multinuclear VOPs can substantially improve excitation performance at a set peak 10g local SAR level in multinuclear acquisitions by preserving the spatial correlation between the 10g local SAR resulting from each individual nucleus’s excitation. Impact: The improved 1H excitation performance enabled through multinuclear VOPs can lead to improved image quality and reduced scan times for a variety of multinuclear imaging applications.