Magneto-Active Metamaterials for 1.5T MRI: An Intelligent Approach to Boost the Signal-to-Noise Ratio of a Scan

Magnetic metamaterials can improve the performance of conventional MRI systems by boosting the magnetic fields in the region-of-interest under scan. However, these reported metamaterials amplify the electromagnetic fields during both RF transmission and reception during MRI scans. The amplification of RF fields by metamaterials during the transmission phase of MRI could lead to potential hazards for patients such as tissue heating, high specific absorption rate, etc. Thus, a magneto-active metamaterial is proposed for the 1.5T MRI that can selectively boost the received signals from the patient's body without affecting the transmitted signals during a scan. The magneto-active metamaterial could provide an intelligent way to enhance the MRI scanned images (boosts the SNR by 2.5 times), keeping patients’ safety in mind by minimizing potential scan threats.