What is an RF Coil?
The quality of an MR image and the accuracy of the quantitative information it contains is limited by the degree to which the desired signal intensity exceeds the random noise that is also present. A radio frequency (RF) receiver coil picks up both the MR signal, which is a weak oscillating magnet field from the rotating hydrogen nuclei in the patient, and the noise, which is due to the random motion of charged particles in the imaging system. The RF receiver coil is basically a sophisticated antenna that functions as the imaging detector and is the critical element that conveys imaging information from the patient to the scanner. As such, its performance largely determines the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the resulting image. High SNR can be used to reduce the time needed to acquire an image, to see smaller features of the anatomy (improve resolution), or to distinguish subtle variations in image contrast due to disease. The focus of the RF Coil Laboratory is to design RF coils that
