The Living Laboratory

A new publication in the Magnetic Resonance in Medicine Journal highlights the potential of the Living Laboratory’s neurovascular (NV) coil in advancing 7T MRI imaging. 

The custom-built coil is the second in a series of body-part-specific 7T MRI coils that are being constructed and validated with MR CoilTech, Siemens Healthineers and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde as part of our Coil Development project. 

Unlike conventional MRI coils, the NV coil extends coverage to both the brain and cervical spine, enabling more comprehensive imaging. Researchers tested its performance using both artificial models and real human subjects, comparing results with an existing in-house head coil. 

The results revealed that the NV coil significantly improved image clarity, increasing signal-to-noise ratio in the cervical spine and central brain by a factor of 2.18 and 1.16 respectively. The coil also maintains fast imaging speed while allowing doctors to scan both the brain and spinal cord in a single session. 

The study marks another step forward in enhancing 7T MRI technology, making it more useful for clinical applications involving both brain and spinal imaging. 

As part of the Living Laboratory’s Coil Development project, a head coil has previously been developed and clinically validated, with additional coils for pelvic and spinal imaging currently in the pipeline. The enhanced imaging power generated by these new coils will ultimately extend the utility of 7T MRI for diagnosing and monitoring a wide range of diseases.

Read the full publication

The publication was co-authored by Divya Baskaran, Belinda Ding, Son Chu, Paul McElhinney, Sarah Allwood-Spiers, Sydney N. Williams, Keith Muir, Natasha Eileen Fullerton, David Andrew Porter, and Shajan Gunamony.

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First published: 18 February 2025