Characterization of Phase-Based Methods Used for Transmission Field Uniformity Mapping: A Magnetic Resonance Study at 3.0 T and 7.0 T

Knowledge of the transmission field (B1(+)) of radio-frequency coils is crucial for high field (B0 = 3.0 T) and ultrahigh field (B0 >/=7.0 T) magnetic resonance applications to overcome constraints dictated by electrodynamics in the short wavelength regime with the ultimate goal to improve the image quality. For this purpose B1(+) mapping methods are used, which are commonly magnitude-based. In this study an analysis of five phase-based methods for three-dimensional mapping of the B1(+) field is presented. The five methods are implemented in a 3D gradient-echo technique. Each method makes use of different RF-pulses (composite or off-resonance pulses) to encode the effective intensity of the B1(+) field into the phase of the magnetization. The different RF-pulses result in different trajectories of the magnetization, different use of the transverse magnetization and different sensitivities to B1(+) inhomogeneities and frequency offsets, as demonstrated by numerical simulations. The characterization of the five methods also includes phantom experiments and in vivo studies of the human brain at 3.0 T and at 7.0 T. It is shown how the characteristics of each method affect the quality of the B1(+) maps. Implications for in vivo B1(+) mapping at 3.0 T and 7.0 T are discussed.