Abstract
A reconfigurable metamaterial is used to enhance the reception field of a radio frequency (“RF”) coil for use in magnetic resonance imaging (“MRI”). In general, the metamaterial can be a metasurface, which may be flexible, having a periodic array of resonators. Each resonator in the periodic array can be defined as a unit cell of the metamaterial and/or metasurface. The unit cells include a first conductor and a second conductor separated by an insulator layer. The first conductor can be a solid conductor and the second conductor can be a conductive fluid (e.g., a liquid metal, a liquid metal alloy) contained within a microfluidic channel. Varying the volume of conductive fluid in each unit cell adjust the signal enhancement ratio of the metamaterial.
| Original language | English (US) |
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| U.S. patent number | 11733326 |
| State | Published - Aug 22 2023 |