Novel Method to Improve the Uniformity of 7T Body MR Images

When using ultrahigh-field MR systems (7T), the variations in the RF magnetic field can lead to significant loss in image uniformity. To optimize the overall MR image quality, the image region is divided into multiple smaller regions of interest (the ROIs), which can be independently optimized using transmit array optimization techniques including RF shimming, to improve RF magnetic fields and image intensity. Electromagnetic numerical simulations and corresponding transverse magnetization (|Mt|) acquired using the Bloch equation-based MRI simulator are used to evaluate the proposed method. Compared to the simulation results of quadrature driving method, mean and standard deviation (SD) of |Mt| in the full image (an inner diameter of 500 mm) were improved 47% (mean) and 48% (SD), whereas 94% (max) and 97% (mean) improved in the unaveraged SAR using the proposed method. The uniformity of |Mt| acquired using the method was especially improved in the peripheral region of the selected phantom image compared to that of other methods. The proposed method using multiple independently optimized ROIs and numerical simulations significantly improved the uniformity of |Mt| body images at 7T. This technique would be generally applicable to any high-field strength MR systems, which generate short RF wavelengths compared to the field of view.