A Simulation-based Study of the Cycloid Dipole as an RF Coil Element for 7T MRI

Motivation: The demand for improving RF coil designs to maximize the potential of high-field MRI continues to grow. Exploring innovative RF coil elements holds the potential to improve RF coil performance and diagnostic image quality. Goal(s): Our goal is to investigate the performance of a cycloid dipole antenna as a possible RF coil element for high-field MRI. Approach: FDTD simulations were performed to compare the performance of a standard half-wavelength dipole at 7 T with two variations of the cycloid dipole. Results: Cycloid dipole exhibits a shorter resonance structure, higher B1+ and B1+/√SAR10g_max efficiencies when compared to the standard dipole antenna. Impact: The study introduces cycloid dipoles as potential MRI coil elements. This opens opportunities for future investigations to optimize cycloid antennas within specific MRI coil designs, improving clinical imaging quality.