Radio frequency field localization for magnetic resonance

A system comprising:

• a magnetic resonance coil having a plurality of individually controllable segments;
• a multi-channel driver, each channel of the driver coupled to a segment in one to one relation;
• a processor coupled to the driver and configured to control the coil;
• and
• a set of instructions executable by the processor, the set of instructions configured to execute a convex optimization algorithm, and further configured to obtain at least one of a uniform B1 field distribution, a localized B1 field distribution, a masked B1 field distribution, and a custom B1 field distribution.

A method comprising:

• receiving a target field distribution for a transverse magnetic field within a coil for use in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI);
• executing a convex optimization algorithm to determine a solution corresponding to the target field distribution;
• and
• selecting a drive signal for a current element of the coil based on the solution.