Accelerated MRI at 9.4 T with electronically modulated time-varying receive sensitivities

Purpose To investigate how electronically modulated time-varying receive sensitivities can improve parallel imaging reconstruction at ultra-high field. Methods Receive sensitivity modulation was achieved by introducing PIN diodes in the receive loops, which allow rapid switching of capacitances in both arms of each loop coil and by that alter B-1(-) profiles, resulting in two distinct receive sensitivity configurations. A prototype 8-channel reconfigurable receive coil for human head imaging at 9.4T was built, and MR measurements were performed in both phantom and human subject. A modified SENSE reconstruction for time-varying sensitivities was formulated, and g-factor calculations were performed to investigate how modulation of receive sensitivity profiles during image encoding can improve parallel imaging reconstruction. The optimized modulation pattern was realized experimentally, and reconstructions with the time-varying sensitivities were compared with conventional static SENSE reconstructions. Results The g-factor calculations showed that fast modulation of receive sensitivities in the order of the ADC dwell time during k-space acquisition can improve parallel imaging performance, as this effectively makes spatial information of both configurations simultaneously available for image encoding. This was confirmed by in vivo measurements, for which lower reconstruction errors (SSIM = 0.81 for acceleration R = 4) and g-factors (max g = 2.4; R = 4) were observed for the case of rapidly switched sensitivities compared to conventional reconstruction with static sensitivities (SSIM = 0.74 and max g = 3.2; R = 4). As the method relies on the short RF wavelength at ultra-high field, it does not yield significant benefits at 3T and below. Conclusions Time-varying receive sensitivities can be achieved by inserting PIN diodes in the receive loop coils, which allow modulation of B-1(-) patterns. This offers an additional degree of freedom for image encoding, with the potential for improved parallel imaging performance at ultra-high field.