Recent Advances and Challenges in the Development of Radiofrequency HTS Coil for MRI
Radiofrequency (RF) coils fashioned from high-temperature superconductor (HTS) have the potential to increase the sensitivity of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) experiment by more than a dozen times compared to conventional copper coils. Progress, however, has been slow due to a series of techn...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Physics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphy.2021.705438/full |
| _version_ | 1819105269165064192 |
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| author | Aimé Labbé Gilles Authelet Bertrand Baudouy Cornelis J. van der Beek Javier Briatico Luc Darrasse Marie Poirier-Quinot |
| author_facet | Aimé Labbé Gilles Authelet Bertrand Baudouy Cornelis J. van der Beek Javier Briatico Luc Darrasse Marie Poirier-Quinot |
| author_sort | Aimé Labbé |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Radiofrequency (RF) coils fashioned from high-temperature superconductor (HTS) have the potential to increase the sensitivity of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) experiment by more than a dozen times compared to conventional copper coils. Progress, however, has been slow due to a series of technological hurdles. In this article, we present the developments that recently led to new perspectives for HTS coil in MRI, and challenges that still need to be solved. First, we recall the motivations for the implementations of HTS coils in MRI by presenting the limits of cooled copper coil technology, such as the anomalous skin effect limiting the decrease of the electric resistance of normal conductors at low temperature. Then, we address the progress made in the development of MRI compatible cryostats. New commercially available low-noise pulsed-tube cryocoolers and new materials removed the need for liquid nitrogen-based systems, allowing the design of cryogen-free and more user-friendly cryostats. Another recent advance was the understanding of how to mitigate the imaging artifacts induced by HTS diamagnetism through field cooling or temperature control of the HTS coil. Furthermore, artifacts can also originate from the RF field coupling between the transmission coil and the HTS reception coil. Here, we present the results of an experiment implementing a decoupling strategy exploiting nonlinearities in the electric response of HTS materials. Finally, we discuss the potential applications of HTS coils in bio-imaging and its prospects for further improvements. These include making the technology more user-friendly, implementing the HTS coils as coil arrays, and proposing solutions for the ongoing issue of decoupling. HTS coil still faces several challenges ahead, but the significant increase in sensitivity it offers lends it the prospect of being ultimately disruptive. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T02:19:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3d469fdd910d4793af523ff02ed93321 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-424X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T02:19:34Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Physics |
| spelling | doaj.art-3d469fdd910d4793af523ff02ed933212022-12-21T18:42:09ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Physics2296-424X2021-07-01910.3389/fphy.2021.705438705438Recent Advances and Challenges in the Development of Radiofrequency HTS Coil for MRIAimé Labbé0Gilles Authelet1Bertrand Baudouy2Cornelis J. van der Beek3Javier Briatico4Luc Darrasse5Marie Poirier-Quinot6Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, Inserm, Laboratoire d'Imagerie Biomédicale Multimodale Paris Saclay, Orsay, FranceUniversité Paris-Saclay, CEA, Département des Accélérateurs, de Cryogénie et de Magnétisme, Gif-sur-Yvette, FranceUniversité Paris-Saclay, CEA, Département des Accélérateurs, de Cryogénie et de Magnétisme, Gif-sur-Yvette, FranceUniversité Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Centre de Nanosciences et de Nanotechnologies, Palaiseau, FranceUnité mixte de physique, CNRS, Thales, Université Paris-Saclay, Palaiseau, FranceUniversité Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, Inserm, Laboratoire d'Imagerie Biomédicale Multimodale Paris Saclay, Orsay, FranceUniversité Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, Inserm, Laboratoire d'Imagerie Biomédicale Multimodale Paris Saclay, Orsay, FranceRadiofrequency (RF) coils fashioned from high-temperature superconductor (HTS) have the potential to increase the sensitivity of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) experiment by more than a dozen times compared to conventional copper coils. Progress, however, has been slow due to a series of technological hurdles. In this article, we present the developments that recently led to new perspectives for HTS coil in MRI, and challenges that still need to be solved. First, we recall the motivations for the implementations of HTS coils in MRI by presenting the limits of cooled copper coil technology, such as the anomalous skin effect limiting the decrease of the electric resistance of normal conductors at low temperature. Then, we address the progress made in the development of MRI compatible cryostats. New commercially available low-noise pulsed-tube cryocoolers and new materials removed the need for liquid nitrogen-based systems, allowing the design of cryogen-free and more user-friendly cryostats. Another recent advance was the understanding of how to mitigate the imaging artifacts induced by HTS diamagnetism through field cooling or temperature control of the HTS coil. Furthermore, artifacts can also originate from the RF field coupling between the transmission coil and the HTS reception coil. Here, we present the results of an experiment implementing a decoupling strategy exploiting nonlinearities in the electric response of HTS materials. Finally, we discuss the potential applications of HTS coils in bio-imaging and its prospects for further improvements. These include making the technology more user-friendly, implementing the HTS coils as coil arrays, and proposing solutions for the ongoing issue of decoupling. HTS coil still faces several challenges ahead, but the significant increase in sensitivity it offers lends it the prospect of being ultimately disruptive.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphy.2021.705438/fullhigh temperature superconductormagnetic resonance imagingMRI compatible cryostatnonlinear properties of superconductorsHTS coilcryogenics |
| spellingShingle | Aimé Labbé Gilles Authelet Bertrand Baudouy Cornelis J. van der Beek Javier Briatico Luc Darrasse Marie Poirier-Quinot Recent Advances and Challenges in the Development of Radiofrequency HTS Coil for MRI Frontiers in Physics high temperature superconductor magnetic resonance imaging MRI compatible cryostat nonlinear properties of superconductors HTS coil cryogenics |
| title | Recent Advances and Challenges in the Development of Radiofrequency HTS Coil for MRI |
| title_full | Recent Advances and Challenges in the Development of Radiofrequency HTS Coil for MRI |
| title_fullStr | Recent Advances and Challenges in the Development of Radiofrequency HTS Coil for MRI |
| title_full_unstemmed | Recent Advances and Challenges in the Development of Radiofrequency HTS Coil for MRI |
| title_short | Recent Advances and Challenges in the Development of Radiofrequency HTS Coil for MRI |
| title_sort | recent advances and challenges in the development of radiofrequency hts coil for mri |
| topic | high temperature superconductor magnetic resonance imaging MRI compatible cryostat nonlinear properties of superconductors HTS coil cryogenics |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphy.2021.705438/full |
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