A detunable wireless resonator insert for high-resolution TMJ MRI at 1.5 T

[Display omitted] •Cost-Effective Enhancement: Proposes a simple and low-cost wireless resonator to improve TMJ MRI.•Innovative Coil Design: Utilizes a local receive array as the primary coil for enhanced imaging quality.•Distortion-Free Imaging: Introduces a receive-only wireless coil, ensuring no transmit field distortion.•Clinical Adaptability: Facilitates seamless integration into clinical applications without the need for coil parameter modifications.•Parallel Imaging capability: Preserves parallel imaging capability in the primary receive array. MRI is essential for evaluating and diagnosing various conditions affecting the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and surrounding structures, as it provides highly detailed images that enable healthcare professionals to assess the joints and surroundings in great detail. While commercial MRI scanners typically come equipped with basic receive coils, such as the head receive array, RF coils tailored for specialized applications like TMJ MRI must be obtained separately. Consequently, TMJ MRI scans are often conducted using the head receive array, yet this configuration proves suboptimal due to the lack of specialized coils. In this study, we introduce a simple, low-cost, and easy-to-reproduce wireless resonator insert to enhance the quality of TMJ MRI at 1.5 T. The wireless resonator shows a significant improvement in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and noticeably better imaging quality than the head array alone configuration in both phantom and in vivo images.