Ishikawa Clinic, 46-1 Shimokamo-Umenoki-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-0851, Japan.
Jpn J Radiol. 2011 Apr;29(3):166-70. doi: 10.1007/s11604-010-0532-z. Epub 2011 Apr 26.
The aim of this study was to investigate whether the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in transverse images acquired from spine phased array coils is improved by deactivating coils distant from the imaging region and to identify the optimum coil settings.
Ten healthy volunteers (five men, five women; average age 38 years) underwent transverse magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the cervical spine using four to one channels of a four-channel phased array coil for cervical imaging. The SNR of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), spinal cord, muscle tissue, intervertebral disc, vertebral body, and prevertebral soft tissue was measured for each coil combination.
In all measured regions, the SNR was the highest for images acquired using two coils; the SNR was significantly higher for two coils than for four coils in CSF, spinal cord, muscle tissue, intervertebral disc, vertebral body, and prevertebral soft tissue (P < 0.001, P = 0.019, P < 0.0001, P = 0.014, P = 0.010, P < 0.001).
Deactivating two of the four coils used for sagittal sections, meaning that two coils are active, resulted in improved SNR for transverse images. Selecting the optimum number and combination of coils for each imaging cross section may enable acquisition of images with a better SNR.
本研究旨在探讨在脊柱相控阵线圈采集的横断图像中，关闭远离成像区域的线圈是否能提高信噪比（SNR），并确定最佳线圈设置。
10 名健康志愿者（5 名男性，5 名女性；平均年龄 38 岁）使用颈四通道相控阵线圈的四通道中的四到一通道进行颈椎横向磁共振成像（MRI）。测量每个线圈组合的脑脊液（CSF）、脊髓、肌肉组织、椎间盘、椎体和椎前软组织的 SNR。
在所有测量区域中，使用两个线圈采集的图像 SNR 最高；与四线圈相比，两线圈在 CSF、脊髓、肌肉组织、椎间盘、椎体和椎前软组织中的 SNR 显著更高（P < 0.001，P = 0.019，P < 0.0001，P = 0.014，P = 0.010，P < 0.001）。
关闭用于矢状切片的四个线圈中的两个，即两个线圈处于活动状态，可提高横断图像的 SNR。为每个成像横断面选择最佳数量和组合的线圈，可能能够采集 SNR 更好的图像。
