Description:
Summary
Clinical MRI systems use local surface receive devices (coils) to provide optimized signal to noise and enable fast imaging using parallel imaging techniques. These surface coils are designed for adult patients and function poorly for pediatric patients. Pediatric coils are targeted at a certain age group and due to the wide range of pediatric patient sizes (from neonates to preadolescents) it is not possible to design one set of surface coils that fit all pediatric patients. In this solicitation we seek a set of dedicated cardiac MRI coils that will cover the entire range of pediatric patients.
Project Goals
The aim is to create a set of four (4) different pediatric cardiac MRI receive coil arrays to cover the size ranges of the pediatric population: 1) Neonate/Premie, 2) 3 months – 2 years, 3) 4-8 years, 4) 10-12 years. The coils could consist of a semi-rigid shell in the shape of the pediatric torso and multiple receiver coil elements will be placed on the shell. Optimal design in terms of coil element sizes and placement needs to be determined (through simulation and prototyping) during the project. The goal is to have coils with a large number of coil elements (16-64) optimized for parallel imaging (rate 4 for 2D imaging and rates 4-8 for 3D imaging). We envision an iterative development process where prototype coils are refined and optimized based on actual experiments in pediatric patients at the NHLBI operated MRI system at Children’s National Medical Center (Phase I). Commercial products will be developed based on the prototypes (Phase II).
Phase I Activities and Expected Deliverables
Phase I will be focused on developing and fine-tuning prototypes. The end goal of the project (after phase II) is to have a commercial set of 4 coils, but for phase I, two (2) coils will be expected (e.g. sizes 1 and 4 above). Phase I will be initiated with discussions between the vendor and NHLBI about coil sizes, element counts, and parallel imaging performance expectations. The deliverables for Phase I are:
• Initial survey of reasonable coil geometries for the 4 body sizes mentioned above.
• Simulations of optimal element size and count for all 4 coil sizes.
• Two prototype coils (sizes 1 and 4). Compatible with a Siemens 64-channel, 1.5T Aera MRI system (Dual Density Signal Transfer system).
• Coil test data needed for a) Siemens safety compliance, b) NHLBI NMR Safety Committee approval for human use.
Phase II Activities and Expected Deliverables
Phase II represents the final commercialization of the set of four (4) coils. Expected deliverables:
• One set of (4) coils approved for human use.
