Extending the MaRCoS: A 4-Rx Open-Source MRI Console for Low-, Mid-, and High-Field Systems

Abstract

The fast advancement of low-field MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) has generated a high demand for cost-effective and versatile consoles for MRI scanners. MaRCoS (MAgnetic Resonance COntrol System) is such an open-source system that has been well-tested on various low-field systems. However, due to limitations of the basic hardware, MaRCoS is constrained in its ability to support a wide range of field strengths and RF (radio-frequency) channels. In this study, we aim to port the MaRCoS console to high-field (up to 125 MHz Larmor frequency) MRI systems and increase the number of RF receive channels, enabling phased-array coils and/or active EMI (electromagnetic interference) elimination techniques. A series of implementations were conducted across 0.11-, 0.5-, and 1.5-Tesla MRI systems, to evaluate its compatibility and performance. Promising results indicate that the extended console not only matches but, to some extent, surpasses the performance of a commercial console, particularly in terms of flexibility and accessibility. It is hoped that this study could effectively expand the scope of open-source MRI technology, making MRI scans more accessible and affordable.