​Taking advantage of innovative clinical and neuroscientific projects, the team focuses on improving image quality using only the single channel transmission chain and coils optimizing compatible imaging protocols. This implies to set up “product” sequences or to implement news approaches compatibles with 7T challenges: Endogenous biomarker mapping, MR imaging compatible with classic brain segmentation pipelines (Figure 1), or more specific compartments (e.g.: hippocampus sub-segmentation). Such data extraction can be important for pathology assessment or to identify therapeutic targets. Another team’s stated objective is to develop functional MRI at high spatial and temporal resolution as well as a very high in vivo spatial resolution close to 100µm isotropic.

 

Of course, radiofrequency inhomogeneity management is a very important topic. First, it can be tackled by using high dielectric permittivity materials in standard system to modify its behavior (Figure 2). Later, we will see that the problem can also be solved more elegantly using parallel transmission.​

 

Volunteer and staff security is also major consideration for METRIC team. Passive and active solutions to RF inhomogeneities are carefully studied for Specific Absorption Ratio (SAR) perspective. Volunteer acoustic noise protection and staff magnetic field longitudinal exposition is also a research topic for the team and its collaborators. ​