High-resolution imaging of the excised porcine heart at a whole-body 7 T MRI system using an 8Tx/16Rx pTx coil.

The receive sensitivity and parallel imaging capability of the dedicated coil were superior to that of a commercial 1Tx/32Rx head coil in both SNR and T*-mapping. The array was successfully tested to acquire ultra-high-resolution (0.1 × 0.1 × 0.8 mm voxel) images of post-infarction scar tissue. High-resolution (isotropic 1.6 mm voxel) diffusion tensor imaging-based tractography provided high-resolution information about normal myocardial fiber orientation.