Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is now well established as a tool in clinical diagnosis. MRI also has a potential role in very high resolution MRI, otherwise known as magnetic resonance microscopy (MRM) on small tissue samples. This ex-vivo MRM, in principle, allows substantial increase in sensitivity of the MRI measurements to detect cellular/molecular changes underlying disease compared with in-vivo MRI. This is essential for researchers to determine the biological/disease processes that leads to MRI changes in vivo, enhancing the translation of MRI methods to the clinical arena. However undertaking MRM on standard MRI scanners is limited by signal sensitivity and by the size and shape of commercial tissue sample holders. This project addresses these limitations with a new concept that integrates the sensor that detects the MRI signal, a new very high performance RF coil, into a specially designed tissue sample container. This will allow the system users to undertake MRM with image resolution of less than 100 micro-meters in reasonable scan times, this in turn will lead to a significant uptake of this bio-imaging techniques.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used as a safe 'window' into the body by basic science and clinical researchers to 'see' changes in biological molecules or structure without surgery or biopsy, to assess disease or effects of therapy. The project aims to produce a system of integrated devices to be sensitive to detecting low amounts of MRI signals from the brain of live subjects, isolated brain samples, and especially from multiple, very thin, 'microscopy-sized' brain tissue sections. MRI of the latter is innovative and offers the researcher with the ability to get closer to studying small brain changes approaching those seen by microscopy, and then extrapolate such findings to data from isolated brain samples and live subjects where data has to be acquired relatively quickly and at a larger level than that of tissue sections. The ultimate aim of this project is to extend the use of MRI in the biosciences and negate the need for biopsy and potential risks of damage to the body.

The objective of this project is to prove that a novel method to design and manufacture “volume RF coils” for MR imaging scanners can achieve the envisaged specific clinical and financial benefits. RF coils are used to detect the signal in MRI scanners. They are designed to be placed very close to the patient as the closer they are to the target tissue, the better the image quality and the better the resulting diagnosis. Volume RF coils refer to those that surround the target tissue such as the head. The invention that is key to this project involves the combination of state-of-the-art medically approved foams, 3D printed plastic parts and moulded plastic parts to produce a rigid volume coil in which the primary outer surface material is made of light weight foam. There are several clinical benefits for the user and the patient. In particular the coil will be lighter weight and more acceptable and comfortable for the patient. The use of foam makes it possible to fit the coil closer to the target tissue giving the potential for better clinical images. Equally important are the economic benefits of this new approach. This method will reduce the time and cost of both development and production. This gives the potential for lower prices devices thus reducing the cost of the MR procedures. A particular benefit is that this design allows greater use of automated manufacturing processes. This, in turn means that manufacturing in the UK is financially justified as opposed to the Far East. It is PulseTeq’s intention, once this design process is successfully demonstrated within this project, to use this process to develop several RF coils optimised for different parts of the body such as the head and knee. These devices have very significant sales potential and, through these, the aim is to expand the business in the UK to become a significant supplier and exporter of RF coils to the clinical MRI market.