Description
While low-to-mid field systems in MRI have nearly been abandoned for high-field, high- performance systems, recent improvements in MR hardware, algorithms, and computation have stimulated a resurgence in interest of upgrading lower-end magnets to achieve high performance at significantly lower cost, improved accessibility, portability, and siting. In this project, we upgrade a wrist 1T permanent-magnet system to reduce its field inhomogeneity while maintaining good SNR. We integrate a simple B0 shim array into a solenoid TRX coil for reducing B0 through localized targeted shimming. Through simulations and experiments, we demonstrate improved homogeneity with an initial 6-channel prototype, later upgrading to a full hardware-integrated 16-channel system, with negligible effects on the transmit field and received SNR.