Evaluation of performance gains combining high-density receive arrays with transceiver arrays for brain imaging at 7T

Motivation: To improve signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) in deep brain structures while using high-density receive arrays at 7T. Goal(s): Compare SNR and g-factor performance of conventional transmit-only receive-only arrays with receive arrays combined with transceiver arrays. Approach: Transceive function was introduced on 8Tx63Rx and 16Tx96Rx 7T head coils, so that the number of receive channels during acquisition increased by 8 and 16, respectively. Three healthy volunteers were scanned, and SNR and g-factor maps were calculated for the different configurations. Results: The transceiver configuration provided about 16% increase in the central SNR. At higher acceleration factors, especially the 112-channel receive configuration provided improved g-factor performance. Impact: : High-density receive-only arrays provide high SNR close to the surface while maintaining the central SNR under sample noise dominant conditions. Transceiver loops surrounding the receive array enhances the central SNR at 7T, although not as high as reported at 10.5T.