Dual Cervical Thoracic Coil for Spine Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract

The need for repositioning of surface coils and patients in MR examinations of the cervical and thoracic spine prolongs examination time. A new receiver design is proposed which overcomes this problem. The device is composed of two actively decoupled receiver coils mounted on the frame of a Philadelphia collar. These coils may be used separately to image either the thoracic or cervical spine or together to produce larger field-of-view images of the combined region. Signal-to-noise ratios of the separate cervical and thoracic spine images are not degraded as a result of mounting the receivers together. The full cervical and thoracic region is shown to be imaged at a signal-to-noise ratio significantly higher than that afforded by the body coil. A retrospective review of our case load suggests that a time saving could be achieved in approximately 1/3 of spine examinations by using this coil.