SNR Comparison of the 16-Channel Skope.Swiss NeuroCam versus a Philips 32-Channel Coil in Phantom and Volunteer Data

Motivation: Dynamic field monitoring has advantages for geometric distortion correction and spiral imaging. The Skope.swiss NeuroCam™ comes with integrated field probes, but has only 16 receive channels, potentially lacking SNR compared to higher element head coils. Goal(s): Comparing SNR of the NeuroCam and a 32-channel head coil in various conditions. Approach: SNR was measured in a phantom with a non-accelerated GE sequence, and in a volunteer with FFE T1-weighted and GE-EPI sequences. Results: SNR was higher peripherally and similar centrally for the NeuroCam compared to the 32-channel head coil. Impact: This study compared regional SNR between the Skope.Swiss 16-channel NeuroCam™ head coil, equipped with dynamic field monitoring, and a Philips dStream 32-channel head coil. Findings offer researchers practical guidance on coil selection based on regional SNR requirements and study objectives.