The CMRR's release notes for their MB-EPI sequence recommend using the 32-channel head coil for multiband EPI, and they caution against using the 12-channel head coil:
"The 32-channel Head coil is highly recommended for 3T. The 12-channel Head Matrix is not recommended, but it can be used for acceptable image quality at low acceleration factors."
But what does "low acceleration" mean in practice? And what if your only choice is a 12-channel coil? Following a couple of inquiries from colleagues, I decided to find out where the limits might be.
Let's start by looking at the RF coil layout, and review why the 12-channel coil is considered an inferior choice. Is it simply fewer independent channels, or something else? The figure below shows the layout of the 12-ch and 32-ch coils offered by Siemens:
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| From Kaza, Klose & Lotze (2011). |
In most cases, the EPI slice direction will be transverse or transverse oblique (e.g. along AC-PC), meaning that we are slicing along the long axis of the magnet (magnet Z axis) and along the front-to-back dimension of the head coil. Along the long axis of the 12-ch coil there is almost no variation in the X-Y plane. At the very back of the coil the loops start to curve towards a point of convergence, but still there is no distinction in any direction in the X-Y plane. Compare that situation to the 32-ch coil. It has five distinct planes of coils along the Z axis. With the 32-ch coil, then, we can expect the hardware - the layout of the loops - to provide a good basis for separating simultaneously acquired axial slices, whereas there is no such distinct spatial information available from the coil elements in the 12-channel coil. In the 12-channel coil, every loop detects a significant and nearly equal fraction of any given slice along Z.
