A transmit coil array assembly for use in a magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) system comprises a plurality of radio frequency (RF) coils arranged
in a configuration for transmitting in parallel during transmission mode
of the MRI system and a plurality of corresponding RF amplifiers each
coupled to a corresponding RF coil for driving currents in the RF coils.
The currents are controlled for defining and steering an excitation volume
within an examined subject. The currents along with the currents in the
gradient coils are further controlled to effect accelerated
multi-dimensional excitation. A method for magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) with multiple transmit coils comprises the step of exciting a
portion of an examined subject with the multiple transmit coils and the
step of receiving magnetic resonance (MR) signals from at least one radio
frequency (RF) coil for generating images corresponding to the selected
portion of the subject.
