An 8 Element Inductively Decoupled Transceiver Array for 1H MR of the Brain at 7T: Performance Characteristics Across 82 Subjects

Transceiver arrays using multiple RF coils and RF shimming have demonstrated improved performance in comparison to conventional volume coils at 7T in the human brain. However, the variability in performance of these arrays across a large group of subjects and brain locations has been questioned due to their strong interactions with the sample. In this work we describe an 8 element transceiver array with selectable geometry and inductive decoupling which simplifies tuning and matching and provides consistent performance with regards to power requirements and overall homogeneity. We report results from 82 subjects at 7T characterizing the performance of the coil