Objective In the past three decades, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become a vital tool for clinical diagnosis and research. A major current trend is the introduction of magnets with much more powerful static magnetic fields, including magnets at 7 Tesla (7T) and higher. Advantages of higher magnetic fields include higher signal-to-noise ratios enabling improved spatial and temporal resolution, and new, unique tissue contrasts due to enhanced sensitivity to tissue susceptibility differences.Unfortunately, the radiofrequency (RF) fields used to excite tissue at higher magnetic fields are subject to interference and penetration effects, leading to signal dropouts which vary from subject to subject depending on body habitus. These effects imply that the inherent advantages of 7T often cannot be leveraged to realise practical imaging benefits. A fair evaluation of the diagnostic potential of 7T cannot be achieved, as image quality improvements are handicapped and often counteracted by these unresolved technical hurdles. 7T MRI cannot be considered for routine clinical use or even effectively evaluated for such use until these hurdles have been overcome.Preliminary research indicates that these effects can be addressed by use of parallel transmission strategies. The goal of the proposed project is to develop a highly optimized multi-channel transmit/receive RF coil for body MRI at 7T. This coil should then be used to exploit and manipulate the complex RF field patterns at 7T using parallel transmission approaches. In contrast to previous approaches, a hybrid method including both static and dynamic shimming of the RF field will be investigated. We hypothesise that such an approach would greatly enhance the flexibility of RF manipulation while limiting overall system complexity. It can be conjectured based on the known properties of ultra-high-field MRI that success would have ground-breaking impact on the diagnosis and characterisation of manifold disease processes. Fields of science engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringinformation engineeringtelecommunicationsradio technologyradio frequencyengineering and technologymedical engineeringdiagnostic imagingmagnetic resonance imaging Programme(s) FP7-IDEAS-ERC - Specific programme: "Ideas" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Topic(s) ERC-AG-LS7 - ERC Advanced Grant - Diagnostic tools, therapies and public health Call for proposal ERC-2011-ADG_20110310 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-AG - ERC Advanced Grant Host institution DEUTSCHES KREBSFORSCHUNGSZENTRUM HEIDELBERG EU contribution € 502 536,07 Address IM NEUENHEIMER FELD 280 69120 Heidelberg Germany See on map Region Baden-Württemberg Karlsruhe Heidelberg, Stadtkreis Activity type Research Organisations Administrative Contact Ina Wiest (Dr.) Principal investigator Mark Edward Ladd (Prof.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data Beneficiaries (2) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all DEUTSCHES KREBSFORSCHUNGSZENTRUM HEIDELBERG Germany EU contribution € 502 536,07 Address IM NEUENHEIMER FELD 280 69120 Heidelberg See on map Region Baden-Württemberg Karlsruhe Heidelberg, Stadtkreis Activity type Research Organisations Administrative Contact Ina Wiest (Dr.) Principal investigator Mark Edward Ladd (Prof.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data UNIVERSITAET DUISBURG-ESSEN Germany EU contribution € 1 597 460,39 Address UNIVERSITATSSTRASSE 2 45141 Essen See on map Region Nordrhein-Westfalen Düsseldorf Essen, Kreisfreie Stadt Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Sandra Kramm (Ms.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data