A TRANSMIT/RECEIVE SWITCH, A TRANSMIT COIL ARRAY AND A RECEIVE COIL ARRAY FOR MRI

摘要

The invention relates to an MRI apparatus for magnetic resonance imaging of a subject of investigation, comprising: a coil arrangement (1) for transmitting an excitation signal into the subject and for receiving a response signal from the subject; a high-power radio-frequency amplifier (4) for generating the excitation signal; and a low-noise amplifier (LNA) for amplifying the response signal. The invention provides a transmit/receive switch (5) which is alternatively operable in a transmit mode or in a receive mode. In the transmit mode, the transmit/receive switch (5) transmits the excitation signal to the coil arrangement (1) and protects the low-noise amplifier (LNA) from the outgoing excitation signal. In the receive mode, the transmit/receive switch (5) routes the incoming response signal to the low-noise amplifier (LNA).