Self-shielded RF coils for imaging in unshielded environments at low-field

Motivation: Access to MRI worldwide could be improved by reducing cost and increasing portability of the system. This requires imaging to occur in unshielded rooms making them highly susceptible to environmental noise; therefore, low-cost alternatives are needed for noise mitigationGoal(s): Here we have designed a self-shielded RF coil array, made of resonating coaxial cables, for low-field parallel imaging in unshielded environments. Approach: The proposed coils were tested against copper loops through phantom and clinical studies in various noise environments. Results: The results indicate the self-shield coils are robust to external noise and produce images with sufficient signal and contrast to distinguish anatomical features. Impact: With the increased interest in the community towards developing accessible MR systems, the proposed coil design presents a low-cost and resource efficient method for noise mitigation, thereby allowing MRI to be portable and available to provide point-of-care screening.