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No or very little PET attenuation compared to conventional coils. More cost effective than conventional RF coils.
About
Scientists at Leiden University Medical Center have developed a plasma antenna to perform magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging. The plasma antenna can be used to replace the conventional metal antenna and offers increased flexibility for MRI. The plasma can be turned on and off on the order of microseconds, and eliminates the requirement for decoupling transmit and receive MR coils. The plasma is reconfigurable and can be controlled by the input power. Using a plasma rather than metal eliminates attanuation from metal in simultaneous PET and MRI data acquisition. Additional development is necessary to determine the most advantageous design and placement for the plasma antenna to be able to incorporate the antenna into existing MR machines and achieve a high signal to noise ratio. We are seeking a licensee and development partner. Key Benefits No or very little PET attenuation compared to conventional coils More cost effective than conventional RF coils Eliminates need to electronically decouple the transmit and receive coils for easier design and construction Applications Replacement of conventional metal antenna for improved simultaneous PET and MRI. Development Stage An initial design of plasma antenna has been used to produce MR images. Patent Status A patent application has been filed.