Author Description

This dissertation, "Design and Implementation of High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) Tape RF Coil and Cryostat for MRI Applications" by Yum-wing, Wong,, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Abstract of thesis entitled Design and Implementation of High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) Tape RF Coil and Cryostat for MRI Applications Submitted by Wong Yum Wing For the Degree of Master of Philosophy At the University of Hong Kong In June 2006 Cryogenically-cooled radiofrequency (RF) coils using high temperature superconducting (HTS) materials in the form of wire or tape have been shown to provide substantial signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improvements in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at a relatively low cost, but have not yet been widely adopted for clinical practice because the ceramic compounds used in their manufacture make them quite fragile. In this study a novel method of fabricating HTS tape coil is proposed that provides considerably better protection. An HTS tape surface coil was designed and implemented for human imaging and exhibited an SNR improvement of 350% over an equivalent room temperature copper coil at 0.21T. An HTS volume coil for in-vivo mice imaging was first demonstrated with an improvement of 270% in SNR. A low-cost cryogenic system was also designed and implemented and was able to maintain stable performance for at least half an hour. These results suggest that HTS tape coils of different geometries and configurations with significant SNR improvements can be more easily realized and achieved at a relatively low cost, which can be traded-of