Mri rf coil comprising a multi-element channel structure and method for using the same

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, comprising:

• an MRI radio frequency (RF) coil, comprising:
• a first channel group, comprising:
• a first channel port and a second channel port;
• a first coil element and a second coil element that border each other;
• a first matching circuit electrically coupled from the first channel port to the first coil element and to the second coil element;
• and
• a second matching circuit electrically coupled from the second channel port to the first coil element and to the second coil element;
• and
• a second channel group comprising a third channel port, a fourth channel port, a third coil element, and a fourth coil element;
• an RF circuit;
• and
• a plurality of cables individual to and electrically coupled from the RF circuit respectively to the first, second, third, and fourth channel ports.

A method, comprising:

• providing a radio frequency (RF) coil that comprises a first channel port, a second channel port, a first coil element, a second coil element, a first matching circuit electrically coupled from the first channel port to the first coil element and to the second coil element, and a second matching circuit electrically coupled from the second channel port to the first coil element and to the second coil element;
• and
• performing magnetic resonant imaging (MRI) on a scan object to generate an image of the scan object using the RF coil as a transmit coil and/or as a receive coil;
• wherein, during MRI, the first matching circuit results in a current a in the first coil element and a current b in the second coil element, the second matching circuit results in a current c in the first coil element and a current d in the second coil element, and ac+bd=0 to electrically isolate the first and second channel ports.