System and method for thermo-electric cooling of RF coils in an MR imaging system

A cooling system for reducing the thermal energy transfer from the heated spots of an RF coil assembly to a patient bore of an MRI system is disclosed. The MRI system includes a plurality of gradient coils positioned about a bore of a magnet, an RF shield formed about an RF space, and an RF coil assembly positioned within the RF space and about the patient bore. The cooling system is positioned within the RF space and includes a plurality of cooling modules configured to reduce an operating temperature of the MRI system. Each of the plurality of cooling modules further includes a thermoelectric cooler thermally coupled to the RF coil and a heat sink thermally coupled to the thermoelectric cooler opposite from the RF coil. The thermoelectric cooler is configured to extract heat from the RF coil when a current is applied to the thermoelectric cooler.