Head and Body Coils

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Q Body Coil
The Quadrature Body Coil or Integrated Body coil is contained in the scanner bore. It is the transmit coil. The body coil is the receiver for some surveys and wide field scans.

SENSE Head 32
SENSE Head Coil, the "32-channel coil", is our everyday coil. This is a dual coil with anterior and posterior sections. Normally we use dual coil imaging ("Dual Coil = yes"). Always plug in both connectors. Scanning without both connectors plugged in can damage the coil.

Usage Notes
Place your subject as far into the head end of the coil as possible. Loading too low in the coil increases noise and artefact. Use the short mattress on top of the long mattress to pad up the drop off of the coil. The long mattress by itself can be uncomfortable. Be sure you don't pinch the participant when closing the anterior portion of the coil. Landmark fairly high up on the coil. The participants eyes or a bit higher is a good point of reference. Be aware that the scanner will automatically move the table if needed to put the coil in the iso centre.

SENSE Head 8
The SENSE Head 8 coil provides a high signal to noise ratio and good brain coverage. We test this coil weekly.

Usage notes
When possible, install one of the mirrors so the participant can see outside of the mirror bore.

If the mirror is tilted too far up it will hit the magnet bore. Check that the mirror is adjusted so it won't hit anything before sending the table into the scan plane. Once the participant is in the magnet, they can adjust the mirror.

T/R Head Coil
The Transmit Receive (aka Birdcage) coil is a large coverage head coil. The T/R Head coil is useful for participants that don't fit in the Sense 8 head coil. Unlike our other coils, the T/R head coil does not use the scanner bore integrated transmit coil.

We check the T/R Head coil weekly with a PIQT.

Usage Notes
Be sure to position the T/R Head coil correctly.

A box is located at the back end of the coil which sticks out into the magnet bore. If the coil is placed too far forward on the table, the box will break off when the table is lowered. Be sure to place the coil behind the white plastic spacer in the table top Wrong -- box sticks out past end of table. If you lower the table the coil will break. Right -- coil behind white spacer. In our scanner the white spacer is on the other side.

SENSE-NV-16
The SENSE-NV-16 is made up of 18 coil elements: 8 head, 4 neck and 6 chest. The coils are connected in several different combinations.

See Instructions for Use, volume 2 page 51 for correct usage of this coil.

The coil is in two sections, an anterior part and a posterior part.

Always close the coil before connecting it to the system. Always disconnect the coil from the system before opening the coil.

Lifting the Coil
Never lift the coil by the holes between the anterior and posterior parts. This might damage the coil. Do not lift the coil in one piece.

Set Up

 * Move both latches to the unlocked position.
 * Lift off the anterior part.
 * Carefully lift the posterior part and place it on the scanner tabletop.
 * Use the special NV-16 headphones as the standard headset doesn't fit inside the NV coil. Earplugs are mandatory!
 * Position the subject so that their shoulders touch the posterior part.
 * Place the Anterior Part on the posterior part and move both latches to the down and locked position.
 * Plug the coil into the scanner.

Removal

 * Unplug the coil from the scanner
 * Move both latches to the unlocked position.
 * Carefully lift off the anterior part and set it aside.
 * Remove the participant.
 * Carefully lift the posterior part and move it to the storage spot.
 * Replace the anterior part.

SENSE Flex Medium
This pair of coils can be used to image various parts of the body.

If you are using another coil to hold the flex coils (perhaps for carotid artery imaging) you must plug in all coils before they go into the magnet bore.

Do not place the coils perpendicular to B0, the main magnetic field. If you do, you won't get a signal.

Keep a minimum distance of approximately half the size of an element, between the coil elements if they are positioned parallel.

Ensure that the coil elements do not touch if they are positioned next to each other. It is better if the coil elements overlap a few centimeters.

Ensure that the elements do not touch if they are positioned at an angle. Position one element slightly on the other instead.

Use the SENSE Flex coil spacer to keep the cables away from the participant and prevent loops.

SENSE Cardiac Coil 3.0T
The SENSE-Cardiac coil has a rigid lower part and a flexible upper part. Each part contains 3 phased-array coils.

This coil is used to image the heart and related structures. It is typically used in conjunction with ECG/VCG cardiac triggered scans. The cardiac coil is more involved than the other coils. There is an overview in the IFU manual.

CTL Spine Coil
We have a spine coil! It is normally stored in the supply closet. See Paul or Andrew if you are interested in using this coil.