Study on the Effect of Non-Symmetrical Current Distribution Controlled by Capacitor Placement in Radio-Frequency Coils for 7T MRI

In this paper, we present a study on the effects of varying the position of a single tuning capacitor in a circular loop coil as a mechanism to control and produce non-symmetric current distribution, such that could be used for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) operating at ultra-high frequency (UHF). This study aims to demonstrate that the position of the tuning capacitor of a circular loop could improve the coupling between adjacent coils, used to optimize transmission field uniformity or intensity, improve signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or specific absorption rate (SAR). A typical loop coil used in MRI consists of symmetrically distributed capacitors along the coil; this design is able to produce uniform current distributions inside the coil. However, in UHF conditions, the magnetic flux density (|B(1)(+)|) field produced by this setup may exhibit field distortion, requiring a method of controlling the field distribution and improving the field intensity of the circular loop coil. The control mechanism investigated in this study is based on the position of the tuning capacitor in the circular coil, the capacitor position was varied from 15° to 345°, in steps of 15°. We performed electromagnetic (EM) simulations, fabricated the coils, and performed MRI experiments at 7T, with each of the coils with capacitor position from 15° to 345° to determine the effects on field intensity, coupling between adjacent coils, SAR, and applications for field uniformity optimization. For the case of free space, a coil with capacitor position at 15° showed higher field intensity compared to the reference coil; while an improved decoupling was achieved when a coil had the capacitor placed at 180° and the other coil at 90°; in a similar matter, we discuss the results for SAR, field uniformity and an application with an array coil for the spinal cord.