MRI technology is moving toward higher static magnetic field for higher signal-to-noise ratio, and employing larger element phased-array coils for more scan-time reduction in parallel imaging. Recent research suggest that both higher magnetic field and larger reduction factors in parallel imaging are also mutually dependent: To fully enjoy the benefits of larger element phased array in parallel imaging, going to higher magnetic field becomes necessary.

My main research interests are phased-array design for both high field and parallel MRI; novel parallel reconstruction algorithms; as well as non-invasive high field phased array detection for prostate cancer.

At 7T the size of the RF detector becomes more comparable with the wavelength of electromagnetic field. The field inhomogeneity and radiation loss pose severe challenges for traditional birdcage and loop coils. Some of my research shows that planar and volume strip array may become one alternative by being less lossy in high frequency and their better collective effect caused by more controllable phase relations in an array.

Optimal parallel reconstruction in MRI introduces another set of design criteria for RF arrays. My recent experiments reveal that not only decoupled phased-array but also strongly coupled phased-array can perform parallel imaging. I have shown that 16-coupled volume-strip-array can achieve reduction factor 16. This leads to a set of new design approaches for parallel detection

Another focus is parallel reconstruction for radial projections. Since the reduction factor of radial parallel imaging is not completely limited by the number of array elements, it has better potential to realize the true RF spatial encoding, especially in high field MRI.