Radio Frequency coil (RF coil) receiver adalah salah satu komponen penting penyusun sistem MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) yang bekerja dengan menangkap sinyal RF yang dipancarkan tubuh, dimana sinyal tersebut akan menentukan kualitas citra yang dihasilkan. Pada skripsi ini, dirancang sebuah RF coil yang mampu bekerja pada dua buah frekuensi resonansi, masing-masing pada sistem MRI 3T dan 7T, yakni pada frekuensi 127,8 MHz dan 298,2 MHz. RF coil terbuat dari plat tembaga yang dibentuk melingkar sebanyak delapan elemen, dimana masing-masing elemen terdiri dari dua buah plat tembaga yang mampu beresonansi pada frekuensi 127,8 MHz dan 298,2 MHz. Sistem MRI 3T banyak digunakan untuk pemeriksaan medis dan sistem MRI 7T digunakan untuk keperluan penelitian. Dengan demikian, satu buah RF coil dapat dipasang pada dua sistem MRI yang berbeda dan dapat mendukung metode parallel imaging. Berdasarkan hasil pengukuran RF coil yang sudah difabrikasi, RF coil mampu bekerja pada dua buah frekuensi resonansi 127,8 MHz dan 298,2 MHz, dengan nilai magnitudo koefisien refleksi ≤ -10dB. Hasil simulasi dan pengukuran distribusi densitas energi medan magnet dan medan listrik menunjukkan bahwa nilai densitas energi medan magnet lebih besar daripada medan listrik di area medan dekat. Hal ini menyebabkan nilai koefisien refleksi pada saat sebelum dan setelah dipasang phantom pada jarak medan dekat tidak mengalami perubahan yang signifikan, terutama pada frekuensi 127,8 MHz. Hasil simulasi dan pengukuran juga menunjukkan homogenitas medan magnet sistem MRI 3T (127,8 MHz) lebih seragam dibandingkan sistem MRI 7T (298,2 MHz). Hasil simulasi menunjukkan nilai peak SAR (specific absorption rate), dengan daya input 1 W, adalah sebesar 0,012 W/kg pada 127,8 MHz dan 0,134 W/kg pada 298,2 MHz. Sedangkan dari hasil pengukuran, diperoleh nilai peak SAR sebesar 1,596 W/kg pada 127,8 MHz dan 1,994 W/kg pada 298,2 MHz. Pengukuran dilakukan dengan metode termografi, dimana phantom dipapar dengan gelombang elektromagnet selama satu jam. Hasil simulasi dan pengukuran SAR tersebut masih berada dalam batas aman berdasarkan ketentuan dari FDA (Food and Drug Administration) dan IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission).

---

Radio Frequency coil (RF coil) receiver is one of the important components in MRI system, which operates by receiving RF signals emitted from the excited body part. The received signals mainly determine the quality of the reconstructed image. In this bachelor thesis, a phased array RF coil is proposed for dual resonant operating frequencies i.e. 127.8 MHz and 298.2 MHz, each for 3T and 7T MRI system, respectively. The proposed RF coils are composed of copper sheets that are arranged circularly to form a birdcage-like structure and consisted of eight elements (or eight single coil). Each element has two copper sheets that can be operated at dual resonant frequencies, namely at 127.8 MHz and 298.2 MHz. The MRI 3T system is often used in clinical scanning for patients examination and the MRI 7T system is currently used for research purpose. Hence, it is beneficial by designing a single RF coil that can be installed into two different MRI systems and supports parallel imaging technique for fast imaging.

Based on the measurement results, the fabricated RF coil is able to operate at dual resonant frequencies, namely 127.8 MHz and 298.2 MHz, where the magnitude of the reflection coefficient ≤ -10dB. From the simulated and measured results, the magnetic field density distribution shows higher than the the electric field in near field region. This phenomenon causes the magnitude of the reflection coefficient does not change significantly when the phantom is placed at the center of coil comparing in free space environment, especially at the frequency of 127.8 MHz.

The simulated and measured results show that the magnetic field homogenity of the proposed coil for 3T MRI system (127.8 MHz) is uniformly seen than the coil for 7T MRI system (298.2 MHz). Moreover, the simulated peak specific absorption rate (SAR) value is 0.012 W/kg and 0.134 W/kg at 127.8 MHz and 298.2 MHz, respectively. In contrary, the measured results show the peak SAR value is 1.596 W/kg and 1.994 W/kg at 127.8 MHz and 298.2 MHz, respectively. A thermographic method is used for such a SAR measurement, where the phantom is exposed to the electromagnetic wave for an hour. However, those simulated and measured SAR results are still within the safety limit based on FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission).