Evaluating Specific Absorption Rate Effects of a Flexible Receive-Only Coil With Various Blocking Configurations via Simulation

Motivation: The effects of flexible receive-only coils on Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) are understudied and poorly understood. Goal(s): The goal was to examine, in the pediatric case, SAR effects in the presence of a receive coil with various blocking impedance characteristics. Approach: Finite Difference Time Domain analysis was applied to evaluate SAR for pediatric human models wrapped in a flexible 16-channel coil with three blocking impedance configurations. Results: Results demonstrated that local and whole-body SAR decreased upon inclusion of a wrapped surface coil when blocking impedance was resistive or inductive and increased when capacitive. Impact: The demonstration of SAR effects in the presence of flexible receive-only coils and the indication of SAR configurability via blocking impedance control informs coil design to lower SAR and facilitate safety in high thermal-risk applications such as pediatric imaging.