Multi-center benchmarking of cervical spinal cord RF coils for 7 T MRI: A traveling spines study

Purpose: The depth within the body, small diameter, long length, and varying tissue surrounding the spinal cord impose specific considerations when designing RF coils. The optimal coil configuration for 7 T cervical spinal cord MRI is unknown and currently there are very few coil options. The purpose of this work was (1) to establish a quality control protocol for evaluating 7 T cervical spinal cord coils, and (2) to use that protocol to evaluate the performance of four different coil designs. Methods: Three healthy volunteers and a custom anthropomorphic phantom (the traveling spines cohort) were scanned at seven 7 T imaging centers using a common protocol and each center's specific cervical spinal cord coil. Four different coil designs were tested (two in-house, one Rapid Biomedical, and one MRI.TOOLS design). Results: The Rapid Biomedical coil was found to have the highest efficiency, whereas one of the in-house designs (NeuroPoly Lab) had the highest SNR and the largest spinal cord coverage. The MRI.TOOLS coil had the most uniform profile along the cervical spinal cord; however, it was limited in its ability to provide the requested flip angles (especially for larger individuals). The latter was also the case for the second in-house coil (MSSM). Conclusion: The results of this study serve as a guide for the spinal cord MRI community in selecting the most suitable coil based on specific requirements and offer a standardized protocol for assessing future coils.