Physics Service
The highly-qualified physics team is well equipped to answer any question relative to the protocols and sequences that are of interest to users. This may vary from optimal parameter selection to specific details about the implementations and physics behind the sequences. We support a full catalogue of the sequences currently installed on our scanners.
For our clinical systems, because of our Master’s Research Agreement with Siemens, we are in a position to request any Works-in-Progress (WIP) that are currently available for our software versions (VE11c on the Prisma and VE12U on the Terra). Sequences for external collaborators can also easily be installed by our staff, provided a C2P agreement is signed, please contact us on how to proceed for either of these requests.
Our senior research team is well experienced in a wide range of analysis tools, many of which were developped in house. We can provide support both in the suggestion of sofware as well as guidelines for getting started with analysis. These are some example of the modalities we have experience with and would be able to provide support for:
- Functional MRI
- Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL)
- Diffusion (DWI)
- Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM)
- Quantitative Magnetization Transfer (qMT)
- Quantitative T1 and T2
- Small animal processing pipelines
About
RF design lab is equipped to design, simulate and build all type of RF coils (Proton/Non-proton, Receive Only/Transmit-Receive, Linearly/Circularly polarized) for our 7T Terra, 3T Prisma and 7T Bruker PharmaScan systems for both research and clinical research applications.
The RF design Lab is equipped with following instrumentation to design, simulate, build and test the coils:
- In order to simulate and optimize the coil design, the RF lab is using the "3D CST Studio EM" simulation software, which allows to analyze the coil design and calculate the SAR and B1-efficiency.
- For mechanical construction and printing circuit boards, the lab is also equipped with a 3D printer and etching machine. We have access to machine shop that includes a Lathe, Drill, CNC milling and other machine tools for fabrication.
- For the electronic fabrication of RF Coils, the lab maintains an inventory of electrical components such as nonmagnetic, high and low voltage ceramic capacitors, a variety of inductors, passive and active diodes, plenty of coax and DC cables as well as semi-rigid coax cables for cable traps.
- Finally for workbench testing, the RF lab has advanced test equipment such as a Keysight ENA Vector Network Analyzer, a KeySight FieldFox Handheld Network Analyzer, DC power supplies, KeySight Multimeters and different Current and Magnetic Field Probes.
Projects
- 8 Channel Transmit/Receive RF Coil Array for imaging the Human Carotid Arteries at 7 Tesla
- 24 Channel receive-only Head Coil Array for Macaque at 3 Tesla
- 8 Channel Transmit and 32 Channel Receive RF Coil Array for the Human Visual Cortex at 7 Tesla
- 8 Channel Transmit and 32 Channel Receive Brain Arrays for 7 Tesla Pediatric Imaging
- 8 Channel Transmit and 32 Channel Receive RF Coil Array for imaging of Human Auditory Cortex at 7 Tesla
Team
| pedram.yazdanbakhsh [at] mcgill.ca (Dr Pedram Yazdanbakhsh) | RF Lab design manager |
| arturo.aliaga2 [at] mcgill.ca (Arturo Aliaga) | Research Assistant |
| michael.ferreira [at] mcgill.ca (Mike Ferreira) | Research Assistant |
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