Design modification of dedicated MR breast coil.

We recently reported on a dedicated MR receiver coil for simultaneous breast imaging. We here describe a new design that has increased sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio and has decreased the spatial variation of reception sensitivity seen with the original design. This breast coil is compatible with a 0.15 T resistive magnet utilizing separate transmit and receive coils and works as a plug-in replacement for the standard receiver coil. As with the original, the modified breast coil uses a triple coil structure. A central coil situated between the breasts consists of an inner loop in vertical plane and two outer loops facing outward at 45 degrees from horizontal. Two outer coils are situated lateral to each breast and consist of an outer loop in vertical plane and an inner loop facing inward at 65 degrees from horizontal plane. A two-chambered clear plastic box supports the coils and allows for accurate patient positioning. The modified coil is insensitive to heart and lung movement, eliminating motion artifacts produced by these organs, and further increasing image quality and resolution.