Detailed Consideration of a Novel Meandered Dipole Array for Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Head at 3 Tesla with Low Radiofrequency Power Deposition

Electric dipole antennas can be designed in a variety of geometries and applied across a wide range of configurations. Appropriately designed dipole antennas can provide deep tissue penetration and low radiofrequency (RF) power deposition in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), making them attractive for applications requiring safe and effective RF transmission in deep regions. On clinical 3 T MRI systems, however, conventional dipoles are too large in size for practical imaging of the head. Inspired by telecommunications designs, the present work adapts meandered dipoles (where the conductor is folded to shorten the antenna) with the resonance frequency controlled through trace geometry. Additionally, multi-channel configurations are considered to improve RF power transmission. A straight dipole was progressively transformed into meandered geometries and characterized using benchtop measurements and electromagnetic simulations. Analyses evaluated frequency response, near-field behavior, power-flow directionality, and distributions of local tissue heating and transmitted RF magnetic field in multi-channel arrays. A four-channel parallel-transmit (pTx) prototype was also used to show the feasibility of dipole-based head imaging at 3 T. The present work demonstrates a practical implementation of compact, low-heating dipole arrays for head MRI, with potential for extension to ultra-high-field or multinuclear imaging.