Wei Zidong, Zhang Zhilin, Chen Qiaoyan, Wang Cuiting, Fu Shuyue, Wang Haifeng, Zhang Xiaoliang, Liu Xin, Zheng Hairong, Wu Jinglong, Li Ye
Lauterbur Imaging Research Center, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Commun Biol. 2025 Mar 22;8(1):482. doi: 10.1038/s42003-025-07866-7.
In this study, we developed an open-transmit and 24-channel flexible receiver head coil assembly tailored for high-resolution ultrahigh-field functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the human somatosensory and motor cortex. Leveraging the increased signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and spatial resolution of ultrahigh field MRI, we address the technical challenges inherent in fMRI coil design. The open-birdcage transmit coil enhances patient comfort and enables visual task implementation, demonstrating superior performance in transmit efficiency and specific absorption rate distribution compared to conventional coils. Furthermore, the 24-channel flexible receiver head coil offers enhanced SNR and image quality, facilitating sub-millimeter vascular-space-occupancy imaging for precise functional mapping. These advancements provide valuable tools for unraveling the intricacies of somatosensory and motor cortex function. By enriching human brain functional studies, they contribute significantly to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying somatosensory and motor cortex function and may have valuable clinical applications in neurology and neuroscience research.
在本研究中，我们开发了一种开放式发射和24通道柔性接收头线圈组件，专为人类躯体感觉和运动皮层的高分辨率超高场功能磁共振成像（fMRI）量身定制。利用超高场MRI提高的信噪比（SNR）和空间分辨率，我们解决了fMRI线圈设计中固有的技术挑战。开放式鸟笼发射线圈提高了患者的舒适度，并能够实施视觉任务，与传统线圈相比，在发射效率和比吸收率分布方面表现出卓越的性能。此外，24通道柔性接收头线圈提供了更高的SNR和图像质量，便于进行亚毫米级血管空间占位成像以实现精确的功能映射。这些进展为揭示躯体感觉和运动皮层功能的复杂性提供了有价值的工具。通过丰富人类脑功能研究，它们对我们理解躯体感觉和运动皮层功能的潜在机制做出了重大贡献，并可能在神经学和神经科学研究中具有重要的临床应用价值。
