An Optimized RF Coil Design for in vivo Non-Human Primate Subjects at 10.5 Tesla

Motivation: To support non-human primate imaging at 10.5T for translational brain model development. Goal(s): Identify RF coil strategies that improve central and cortical SNR for fMRI applications in non-human primates while positioned head-first supine. Approach: Various receive-only coil elements were compared experimentally when placed near-perpendicular to the main magnetic field. A transceiver array was added to help improve central SNR. Results: RF coil elements positioned near perpendicular to the main magnetic field can appreciably add to SNR-starved areas. While multiple RF coil elements were explored, an inductively-shortened dipole and transceiver array were utilized in an 8Tx/39Rx array for non-human primates. Impact: Developing a translational brain model using non-human primates is essential to establishing functional relationships applicable to the human brain. Recent hardware and software developments in Ultra-High Field MRI can facilitate growth of non-human primate applications, leading to improved brain mapping.