CMR at 3 Tesla using a large flexible surface coil: initial experience

The choice of receiver coils used in high-field CMR, such as at 3T, is critical. Because of reduced RF penetration, a broader surface area is required. Too large an area requires imaging with a large FOV, which increases scan-time. This can often be reduced with parallel reconstruction techniques, or k-t space techniques (if the additional FOV is relatively stationary). A simple solution is to use a single coil whose sensitivity profile barely covers the region of interest, minimizing the imaging FOV and therefore scan-time. We are in the process of testing a new 3T CMR-dedicated system, and are examining several approaches to optimize image quality. Promising initial results were obtained with a flexible receiver coil that generates LV function studies at 3T of diagnostic quality and coverage.