Evaluation of the effects of PET modules on the RF field distribution of an integrated PET/RF-coil modality

The aim of this study is to conduct experimental evaluation of the effect of PET module on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system's radiofrequency (RF) field transmission (B
1
) distribution for a separate head PET/RF-coil modality developed by integrating PET modules (in cylindrical format) in between the 8-elements of a birdcage RF coil for human brain imaging in a 3T Siemens Magnetom Verio MRI system [1]. Knowledge of B
1
field will enable us for ensuring quality control of RF coil, correcting results of various quantitative methods, validating theoretical models of electromagnetic field calculations, etc. [2,3].