Toshiba America Mri, Inc.

James V Reveaux

Leon Kaufman

Mitsuaki A Arakawa

Joseph W Carlson

An RF coil array arrangement for enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of the breast or spine regions of prone and supine patients within a vertically oriented B field is disclosed. Several RF coil array embodiments are disclosed that provide for both generating a nuclei nutation field pulse and acquiring nuclear magnetic resonance signals when functioning in an MRI apparatus environment that employs a vertical main magnetic field. A coil array may include one or more RF coils that are intended to be oriented such that their primary B field direction(s) are perpendicular to the vertical magnetic field of the MRI apparatus. Each coil array may further include one or more single loop or solenoidal coil(s) that are oriented having their central or longitudinal axis aligned parallel to the vertical main magnetic field so as to make advantageous use of non-axial field components associated with the coil(s) to further generate and receive desired NMR signal components.

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San Francisco, CA, United States of America

James V Reveaux