Research Article

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Adaptive Cylindrical Wireless Metasurfaces in Clinical

Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Zhonghai Chi, Yi Yi, Yakui Wang, Maopeng Wu, Lixue Wang, Xihai Zhao,
Yonggang Meng, Zhuozhao Zheng,* Qian Zhao,* and Ji Zhou

1. Introduction
The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is one of the most important criteria for evalu-
ating the image quality in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and metasur- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is
faces with unique electromagnetic properties provide a novel method for SNR a powerful and versatile tool in modern
improvement. However, their applications in clinical MRI are highly restricted healthcare. Its nonradioactive nature
makes it more common and popular in
by the inhomogeneous enhancement of the magnetic field and interference in clinical settings and thus has broad applica-
the radio frequency (RF) transmitting field. In this study, an adaptive cylin- tion prospects.[1,2] The signal-to-noise ratio
drical wireless metasurface (ACWM) with homogeneous field enhancement (SNR) is one of the most important criteria
and adaptive resonant modes is reported. The ACWM automatically switches for assessing image quality. A higher SNR
its resonant modes between the partial (transmitting period) and whole allows us to obtain images with higher spa-
tial resolution or faster acquisition, both of
(receiving period) resonance, which enables it to not only eliminate the inter-
which are key technologies for promoting
ference in RF transmitting field, but also greatly enhance the SNR. Its adapt- clinical applications in MRI.[3,4] Thus, it is
ability also makes the ACWM applicable to all common clinical sequences of great significance to improve the SNR
without any modifications in the scan parameters. The SNR of MRI images in MRI. Conventionally, the improvement
of the human wrist, acquired with ACWM, is two to four times compared of SNR has mainly depended on higher-
with the conventional coil. This work offers a practical control method to fill field MRI systems and surface coils with
more channels, but these have several tech-
the scientific knowledge gaps between the preclinical research and medical nical bottlenecks, and new unconventional
applications for metasurfaces, and suggests a novel and powerful tool for methods are urgently demanded.
diagnosing and evaluating human diseases. The appearance of metasurfaces, which
possess unique properties that are not
found in natural materials, has provided an
effective way to improve the SNR.[5,6] By utilizing the interaction
Z. Chi, M. Wu, Y. Meng, Q. Zhao effect between the electromagnetic wave and metal or dielectric
State Key Laboratory of Tribology elements of metasurfaces and the coupling effect between ele-
Department of Mechanical Engineering ments, the electromagnetic wave propagation path and field distri-
Tsinghua University
Beijing 100084, China bution can be manipulated.[7–9] Metasurfaces have demonstrated
E-mail: zhaoqian@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn their application potential in the design and manufacturing of
Y. Yi, Y. Wang, L. Wang, Z. Zheng devices and equipment that manipulate electromagnetic waves,[10]
Department of Radiology in which MRI is one of the most important application fields.
Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital Some studies have investigated the application of metasur-
School of Medicine
Tsinghua University
faces in MRI systems.[11–23] They can be divided into two types in
Beijing 102218, China terms of their configurations. The first involves planar metasur-
E-mail: zzza00509@btch.edu.cn faces, such as Swiss-roll arrays,[11] split-ring arrays with negative
X. Zhao magnetic permeability,[12,13] and metallic wire arrays.[14–20] How-
The Center for Biomedical Imaging Research ever, these configurations perform poorly in terms of the mag-
Department of Biomedical Engineering netic field uniformity, especially in the direction perpendicular
School of Medicine
Tsinghua University to the metasurfaces. The inhomogeneous distribution of the
Beijing 100084, China radio frequency (RF) magnetic field changes the image contrast,
J. Zhou reduces image uniformity, increases artifacts, and even results
State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing in incorrect diagnoses. The second type concerns volumetric
School of Materials Science and Engineering metasurfaces.[21–23] For these configurations of metasurfaces, the
Tsinghua University
Beijing 100084, China
magnetic field uniformity is greatly improved compared with
the planar ones. However, they are usually exceptionally large
The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article
can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202102469. because their wire length is equal to the half-wavelength of the
operating frequency, and they occupy more space in the cavity of
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202102469 the MRI system, which is inconvenient in clinical applications.

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Moreover, they are only sensitive to linearly polarized magnetic
fields, while both the receiving and transmitting field in MRI
are circularly polarized magnetic fields,[2] indicating that half
of the RF power is not enhanced by normal metasurfaces.[21]
Therefore, it is important to design clinically applicable meta-
surfaces with a more homogeneous magnetic field distribution,
smaller configuration, and the enhancement capability of the
circularly polarized magnetic fields.
In addition, both the planar and volumetric metasurfaces
mentioned above are only frequency-dependent structures,
and as the transmitting and receiving fields in MRI possess
the same frequency, that is, the Larmor frequency, the two
fields are enhanced by metasurfaces. The enhancement of the
receiving field results in an increase of the SNR. In contrast, the
enhancement of the transmitting field causes many unexpected
problems.[14,21,24] First, it leads to an unpredictable deviation of
the flip angle (FA) from the original settings in MRI sequences,
thus introducing artifacts or even leading to imaging failure. In
addition, the excessive amplification of transmitting field also
leads to an abnormal increase in the specific absorption rate
(SAR), posing potential risks to patients. Therefore, avoiding
interference in the transmitting field is essential for the further
applications of metasurfaces. Nonlinear metasurfaces, whose
resonance behavior can be controlled actively or passively,[25–31]
have offered a promising direction.
Herein, we report an adaptive cylindrical wireless metasur-
face (ACWM) device with a homogeneous magnetic field distri-
bution, controllable nonlinear resonant property, and friendly
clinical application. A novel and practical design of partially
detuned resonant mode is proposed and applied to a cylindrical
metasurface device. The performance of this instrument is fully
characterized in both simulation and 1.5 T MRI systems, and
its potential in clinical applications is also investigated, wrist
imaging as an example.
2. Results
2.1. Design and Construction of ACWM
The ACWM consists of four parts (Figure 1a). The first part is
a cylindrical substrate fabricated using 3D printing technology.
The second part consists of array elements containing 12 iden-
tical printed circuit boards (PCBs). The copper clads on both
sides together with the dielectric between them form the struc-
tural capacitor CS, which greatly reduces the overall size of the
ACWM.[17] The third part consists of two rings (made of conduc-
tive tape) located at both ends of the cylindrical substrate, which
is connected to the copper cladding outside the PCBs. The fourth
is the control part, which ensures that the ACWM performs dif-
ferently in the RF transmitting and receiving periods. The axis of
the ACWM is along B0 and the body coil (BC) serves as both the
transmitting and receiving coil when the ACWM is functioning.
2.2. Resonant Modes and Field Distributions in the Simulation
To determine a uniform magnetic field distribution, we com-
pared four metasurfaces with different configurations: planar,
curved, split cylindrical, and closed cylindrical (Figure 1b). From
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the planar metasurface to the closed cylindrical metasurface,
the resonant modes show significant variations (Figure 1c). The
planar metasurface exhibits four resonant modes in the fre-
quency range of interest, and some modes begin to degenerate
when it is rolled up. For the closed cylindrical metasurface, only
one resonant mode is available.
In addition, with the evolution of the configuration, the mag-
netic field distribution becomes increasingly homogeneous
(Figure 1d). The planar metasurface shows an inhomogeneous
magnetic field distribution, especially in the normal direction,
along which the field intensity drops drastically. The situation
improves when it is rolled up, and the closed cylindrical metas-
urface shows the best field distribution, not only along its axial
and radial directions, but also in the region of interest (ROI).
The homogeneous magnetic field distribution of the closed
cylindrical metasurface is derived from both the symmetric
distribution of the array elements around the cylinder and the
sinusoidal distribution of the current on the elements. Theo-
retically, a current density that is sinusoidally distributed on
the surface of an infinitely long cylinder generates a perfectly
homogenous transverse magnetic field inside the cylinder.[32,33]
In our configuration, a relatively large length–diameter ratio
(2.5) is adopted, and the simulation reveals that the surface cur-
rent on the 12 array elements is proportional to sinθ, where θ
is the azimuth of the elements in cylindrical coordinates and
varies from 0° to 330° in steps of 30° (upper panel in Figure 1f,
and Figure 1g). Clearly, the homogeneous magnetic field distri-
bution of the closed cylindrical metasurface is an approxima-
tion to the ideal situation.
Both the split and closed cylindrical metasurfaces possess
nearly the same responses to this excitation source, owing to the
fact that, even for the closed cylindrical metasurface, there is no
surface current flowing at an azimuth of 90°, which corresponds
to the split position in the split cylindrical metasurface (lower
panel in Figure 1f), so the open circuit does not alter the cur-
rent distribution and performance of the metasurface. However,
when the magnetic field rotates to the orthogonal direction, the
open circuit disrupts the surface current distribution, and leads
to an absolutely different performance, as described below.
2.3. Linearly and Circularly Polarized Field Enhancement
As described previously, both the transmitting and receiving
fields are transverse magnetic fields circularly polarized around
the static magnetic field B0. A circularly polarized magnetic field
can be decomposed into two orthogonal linearly polarized mag-
netic fields, and both are orthogonal to B0. The responses of the
four metasurfaces to one situation are displayed in Figure 1c,
and the responses to the other, that is, the magnetic field turns
in the perpendicular direction, are shown in Figure 1e. The first
three structures have no response to this excitation field at those
frequencies excited in Figure 1b, indicating that they cannot res-
onantly intensify the two orthogonal excitation sources simulta-
neously, and half of the RF power is not enhanced; this drawback
also commonly exists in other planar metasurfaces and split-loop
volumetric metamaterials.[14,21,24] For the closed cylindrical metas-
urface, the response is the same as that shown in Figure 1b, indi-
cating that it enhances all the local RF power, regardless of the
field direction. Consequently, the closed cylindrical metasurface
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Figure 1. Configuration evolution of the metasurfaces. a) Composition of the ACWM and its experimental settings in the MRI system. b) Schematic
view of the four metasurfaces with different configurations. From left to right: planar, curved, split cylindrical, and closed cylindrical. In the simulation,
the metasurfaces are excited with linearly polarized plane waves and the field direction is displayed on the right. c) Resonant modes of the four metas-
urfaces. d) H-field distributions of their first resonant mode in the transverse plane (in colored 2D figures) and along the arrows in black (in lines). The
white rectangles indicate the ROI, and the sample is placed in this area in the presence of the ACWM. e) Resonant modes of the four metasurfaces
with a plane wave that is orthogonal to the field shown in (a). f) Surface current distributions on the elements (upper) and on the ring (lower) along
the cylinder for closed cylindrical metasurface. g) Azimuth of the elements of the cylindrical metasurface on the transverse plane. The white rectangles
denote the twelve elements, and B0 and H are the static and exciting magnetic fields, respectively.

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Figure 2. The principle of adaptability. a) Dependence of the resonant frequency on the element length h. b) Dependence of the resonant frequency
on the copper clad width w. c) Diagram of a spin echo (SE) sequence and the resonant state of the ACWM (the gradient fields are not displayed). d)
Control circuit state of the ACWM in the transmitting and receiving periods. e) Resonant modes of the ACWM in the transmitting and receiving periods.
The dotted line denotes the Larmor frequency, which is 63.8 MHz for a 1.5 T MRI system.

is preferred due to its highly homogeneous field distribution and
circularly polarized field enhancement property.
2.4. L and C Dependence of the Resonant Frequency
and rings, and capacitor C is derived from the structural capaci-
tors CS and lumped capacitors. Changing the element length h
(related to L) or the width of the copper cladding w outside the
PCB (related to CS) shifts the resonant frequency (Figure 2a,b).

The basic principle of the resonant performance for these meta-
surfaces concerns the L–C circuit resonance, and the resonant
( )
frequency f = 1 / 2π LC , where L and C are the equivalent
inductance and capacitor, respectively. Inductance L includes
the self inductance and mutual inductance of the array elements
2.5. Principle and Design of the Adaptability
In terms of the adaptability, metasurfaces should significantly
enhance the receiving field and not influence the transmit-
ting field, which means that the metasurface has to be tuned

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in the receiving period and detuned in the transmitting period
(Figure 2c). The transmitting and receiving fields are different
in RF power, as well as in chronological order. The RF power in
the transmitting period is at the kW level, while it is at the µW
level in the receiving period.[2] Considering the huge difference
in RF power between these two stages, and also the depend-
ence of the resonant frequency of the metasurface on the
capacitor, we employ dual diodes, whose resistance is power-
dependent, to passively control the state of the capacitors, and
further manipulate the resonant performance of the metasur-
face (Figure 2d).
For the proposed ACWM, as the voltage of the diodes in
the receiving period (typically in µV level) is considerably
lower than its forward voltage (0.95 V), the diodes are open,
and C1 and C2 connect in series, and the ACWM resonates
at the Larmor frequency (63.8 MHz). While in the transmit-
ting period, the voltage of the diodes is significantly higher
than its forward voltage (Figure S2, Supporting Information);
therefore, C1 is shorted and only C2 is remaining, leading to
a relatively higher equivalent capacitance and lower resonant
frequency than those in the receiving period, along with a
very low enhancement performance at the Larmor frequency
(Figure 2e). Consequently, the ACWM automatically switches
its resonant modes between the partial (transmitting period)
and whole resonances (receiving period). By adjusting C1 and
C2, we can precisely control the resonant frequencies and
enhancement effect of the ACWM during the two periods.
2.6. Verification of Adaptability in Simulation
To visualize the performance of ACWM in an MRI system, a
high-pass birdcage coil is established and serves as both trans-
mitting and receiving coil. With scanning capacitors corre-
sponding to C1 and C2, an ideal situation is determined. The
ACWM ensures that the intensity of the transmitting magnetic
field B1+ is unchanged and significantly enhances the receiving
−
field B1 by a factor of 15.7 (Figure 3a).
It should be noted that, even the transmitting magnetic field
intensity in ROI remains the same, the field directions are
opposite (Figure 3b). However, the opposite directions do not
affect the imaging process, owing to the alternating property
of the RF field. The principle that the ACWM keeps the trans-
mitting magnetic field intensity unchanged, can be explained

Figure 3. Adaptability assessment performed in the simulation and MRI experiment. a) Normalized B1+ mapping and B1− mapping in the transverse
plane with BC only and ACWM in the simulation. The black dotted circles represent the metasurface, while the white solid circles represents the
phantom. b) Phase of the B1+ fields in the ROI. c) Variation of the mean signal with FAs and fitting results of λr and λt. A spoiled gradient echo sequence
(SPGR) was used in the MRI experiment. d) λt and λr mappings. λt is the enhancement ratio of the ACWM on the real FA or transmitting field, and λr
is the enhancement ratio corresponding to the signal intensity. Scale bar: 100 mm.

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with the following equation: B1+ e iφ + 2B1+ e i(φ + π ) = B1+ e i(φ + π ),
where B1+ e iφ represents the primary field, or the field without
+ i(φ + π )
the ACWM, φ is the phase, 2B1 e is the inductive field of
+ i(φ + π )
ACWM, and B1 e on the right-hand side of the equation is
the resultant field, which possesses the same field intensity as
the primary field, but is in the inverse direction.
2.7. Verification of Adaptability Using a Phantom
We then characterize the adaptability of the ACWM using a
uniform phantom in a 1.5 T MRI system. The enhancement
effect on the transmitting field is reflected in the real FA or
B1+ mapping, and that on the receiving field is reflected in the
signal intensity. Ideally, we expect that the enhancement ratio
of the ACWM on the real FA, λt = 1.0, and the enhancement
ratio on the signal intensity, λr, is as large as possible. When
assessed with the mean signal in a large region, the varia-
tions in the signal and nominal FA of both the BC and ACWM
exhibit the same trend, and the signal intensity of the latter
is considerably higher than that of the former. After data fit-
ting, we obtained λt = 1.07 and λr = 30.4, indicating that the
ACWM shows excellent performance in both the transmitting
and receiving periods (Figure 3c). The λt and λr mappings
also demonstrate a homogeneous field distribution and excel-
lent adaptive performance (Figure 3d). By normalizing the λt
+
mapping, we determined the normalized B1 mapping with
ACWM.
In terms of the safety of the ACWM, SAR with the ACWM
was also considered in the simulation. The worst SAR with
the ACWM is the same as that for the control, indicating that
the ACWM does not increase the SAR, which benefits from
the detuned resonant performance in the transmitting period
(Figure S3, Supporting Information).
2.8. Adaptability to Clinical MRI Sequences In Vitro
Owing to their interference in the RF transmitting field, it is
challenging to adapt metasurfaces to certain sequences that are
widely used clinically.[24] For the ACWM, we successfully elimi-
nated this interference as described previously, making the
ACWM applicable to all common sequences in clinical MRI.
To confirm the sequence applicability of the ACWM, we
scanned 10 swine feet in vitro with the ACWM and a 4-channel
flexible coil (FLC). The sequences include T1-weighted spin-
echo sequence (T1 SE), T1-weighted fat-saturated spin-echo
sequence (T1 SE fs), T2-weighted fast spin-echo sequence (T2
FSE), proton density-weighted fat-saturated fast spin-echo
sequence (PD FSE fs), short tau inversion recovery sequence
(STIR), T1-weighted gradient-recalled echo sequence (T1 GRE),
and T2-weighted multi-echo sequence (T2 GETI) (Figure 4a).
All images acquired with the ACWM present good uniformity
and achieve two to four times SNR enhancement relative to
the FLC (Figure 4b). Furthermore, no significant artifacts are
observed. The contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) analysis of fat
to muscle on the T1 SE images indicates that the ACWM can
also achieve better contrast between the different tissue types
in MRI (Figure 4c). Meanwhile, quantitative measurements
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suggest that the ACWM does not alter the T1 and T2 values of
the subjects (Figure S4, Supporting Information).
2.9. Performance in High-Resolution Imaging
To test the capability of the ACWM in high-resolution imaging,
a comb-shaped microstructure phantom with different teeth
sizes was constructed (Figure 5a). In the coronal T2 GETI
images obtained with the ACWM, the teeth within the comb
are much more distinct than those obtained with the FLC
(Figure 5b). As the resolution increases, the difference appears
to be larger when viewed subjectively. In the image with an in-
plane resolution of 0.20 × 0.20 mm2 acquired with ACWM, the
numbers on the phantom are recognizable. However, in the
control image with the same resolution, the numbers appear
blurred. At similar SNR levels (≈25), the pixel sizes are smaller
in the presence of the ACWM compared with the FLC (0.42 to
0.20 mm) (Figure 5c).
By changing the number of excitations (NEX), we acquired
MRI images of the phantom for different acquisition times
without altering the other parameters. The reduction of the
acquisition times usually degrades the image quality, which is
manifested as a decrease of the SNR in our results of separate
groups (Figure 5d,e). Images acquired with the short acquisi-
tion time (80 s) with the ACWM show a higher SNR than those
acquired with longer acquisition times (both 160 and 240 s) with
the FLC (Figure 5e). The experiments with swine feet yield sim-
ilar results (Figure S5, Supporting Information). These results
imply that the SNR improvement achieved with the ACWM can
be traded for higher resolution or better imaging efficiency.
2.10. Clinical Characterization of Human Wrists
The main application of coils in MRI is in healthcare. To verify
the clinical utility of the ACWM, we recruited ten healthy vol-
unteers and performed MRI scans of their wrists with sev-
eral common clinical sequences using the ACWM and FLC
(Figure 6a). The coronal images of the human wrists show two
to four times improvement in the SNR compared with those
acquired with the FLC (Figure 6b,c).
A subjective scoring system for the image quality was
applied to assess the images in the perspective of diagnostic
imaging. The MRI images of the volunteers were indepen-
dently reviewed by three experienced radiologists. The main
criteria of the scoring system were clarity and artifacts. The
images obtained with the ACWM scored higher than those
acquired with the FLC (Figure 6d), indicating better diagnostic
efficiency and accuracy in clinical applications.
The tradeoff among the SNR, resolution, and efficiency was
also tested on human wrists. In the coronal PD FSE images
obtained with the ACWM, the triangular fibrocartilage com-
plex (TFCC) is more recognizable as compared with the images
acquired with the FLC (Figure 7e). At similar SNR levels (≈7),
the pixel sizes are smaller in the presence of the ACWM
compared with the FLC (0.31 to 0.20 mm) (Figure 7a,b). With
regards to the imaging efficiency, the ACWM shortened the
acquisition time (167 to 101 s) while preserving the SNR (≈16)
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Figure 4. Adaptability of the ACWM to multiple sequences in a 1.5 T MRI system. a) MRI images of swine feet acquired with the FLC and ACWM using
multiple sequences: T1 SE, T1 SE fs, T2 FSE, PD FSE fs, STIR, T1 GRE, and T2 GETI. b) SNR enhancement analysis of the MRI images acquired with the
ACWM relative to the FLC (n = 10). c) CNR analysis of fat to muscle. The measurements were determined from the T1 SE images of the swine feet (n =
5). All the error bars represent the standard error of the mean (S.E.M.). ***p < 0.001.

compared with the FLC (Figure 7c,d). The ACWM compensates
for the SNR loss caused by the increase of the resolution or the
decrease of the acquisition times. In other words, the ACWM
allows us to surpass the existing image resolution and acquisi-
tion efficiency while preserving the image quality in diagnostic
imaging.
As a wireless coil, the applicability of the ACWM to platforms
of different MRI manufacturers was also considered. Images of
a volunteer’s wrist were acquired with the ACWM and FLC in a
1.5 T MRI system from another manufacturer (SIGNA Explorer,
GE Healthcare). The ACWM shows fine imaging capability and
the SNR is approximately two times higher than that of the FLC
(Figure S6, Supporting Information).
3. Discussion
In this study, we described the design and evaluation of
an ACWM device used in MRI systems. The cylindrical
configuration of the ACWM promotes magnetic field homoge-
neity and enhances the circularly polarized magnetic field. The
adaptive design of the partially detuned resonant mode success-
fully eliminates the interference of the metasurface in the RF
transmitting field while greatly enhancing the receiving field,
and achieves high compatibility for the ACWM with medical
MRI scanners without change in any settings. In practice, the
ACWM is applicable to all MRI sequences and significantly
improves the SNR of MRI images, thus demonstrating excel-
lent clinical utility.
Although previous investigations have suggested that metas-
urfaces can improve the SNR of MRI images, it is challenging
to obtain a uniform increase in the SNR in 3D imaging volume.
Volumetric metasurfaces offer a solution, but they perform
poorly in clinical application owing to their large sizes and lin-
early polarized performance.[21–23] In this study, we proposed a
compact cylindrical configuration with easy operation and cir-
cularly polarized performance. The symmetric arrangement of
the resonant units around the cylinder ensures a homogeneous

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Figure 5. Image quality enhancement and improved efficiency of high-resolution imaging achieved using the ACWM. a) Design of the microstructure
phantom with a comb-shaped structure, which contains multiple teeth sizes, labeled with numbers. The numbers denote the width of each tooth,
ranging from 0.3 to 1.1mm. The comb-shaped structure is placed in deionized water during MRI scanning. b) MRI images of different resolutions of
the microstructure phantom acquired with the FLC and ACWM. The T2 GETI images were obtained with the following parameters: field of view (FOV) =
80 × 80 mm2, slice thickness = 2 mm, and in-plane resolutions of 0.50 × 0.50, 0.42 × 0.42, 0.31 × 0.31, and 0.20 × 0.20 mm2. c) SNR analysis of MRI
images exemplified in (b). d) MRI images of the microstructure phantom corresponding to different acquisition times acquired with the FLC and
ACWM. The T2 GETI images were acquired with the following parameters: FOV = 80 × 80 mm2, slice thickness = 2 mm, and resolution = 0.5 × 0.5 mm2.
The acquisition times were adjusted by changing the NEX. e) SNR analysis of the MRI images exemplified in (d).

magnetic field distribution, which was verified in both the
simulation and MRI experiments. In addition, the compact
configuration makes the ACWM applicable to all medical MRI
scanners, whose apertures are generally between 55 and 80 cm.
The interference in the RF transmitting field of the metas-
urfaces is another obstacle that hinders their clinical applica-
tion. Several investigations have been conducted to realize the
nonlinear properties of metasurfaces to solve this problem.[24,34]
Although a nonlinear planar metasurface was suggested to
avoid interference in the transmitting field,[24] it has a few
drawbacks. The proposed “intelligent metasurface” was illus-
trated by the proximal image quality (SE image of an onion)
in a qualitative rather than quantitative manner, that is, from
the B1+ field or the real FA. In addition, its nonlinear property
was realized by a split loop loaded with a varactor diode, which
made its nonlinearity uncontrollable. Another study suggested
detuning the metasurface in the transmitting period, but their
design was planar in configuration.[34] Moreover, the design of
the switching system was too complicated, and its nonlinearity
could not be controlled and was not quantitatively characterized
from the B1+ field.
In the case of the ACWM, the nonlinearity can be controlled
by adjusting the variable capacitors, and also quantitatively
characterized from the B1+ field (or the real FA). Accordingly,
we guarantee that the enhancement ratio λt in the transmitting
field is 1.07, and λr has a value up to 30.4 (Figure 3), indicating
that the ACWM successfully prevented the interference in the
transmitting field while greatly enhancing the receiving field.
In previous studies, the clinical utility of metasurfaces is
characterized based on only simple tests on subjects such as
onions[24] and several sequences.[21] In the case of the ACWM, a
systematic investigation was conducted to determine its clinical
applicability. The ACWM achieved an SNR improvement of up
to two to four times compared with the FLC, and the image
quality is significantly better from a diagnostic perspective.
The improved SNR can be traded for higher resolution without
loss of image quality. This promising approach offered by the
ACWM may push existing imaging to new limits and help dis-
cover more insidious lesions in clinical settings.[3,4] The gain
in SNR can also be exploited to reduce the acquisition time,
which can alleviate the discomfort of some patients and reduce
the artifacts in motion-related scanning, such as the heart.[35]
Meanwhile, the ACWM enhances the CNR between different
tissues without altering their natural contrast, that is, the
T1/T2 values.[36,37] The ACWM is also applicable to all common
sequences with no additional modifications to the scan param-
eters. In addition, as the ACWM is wireless, no interface com-
munication protocol is required. Its enhancement property only

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Figure 6. Enhancement of human wrist MRI images with the ACWM. a) Photographs of the ACWM and FLC with the wrist inside during the examina-
tion. b) Representative MRI images of human wrists acquired with the FLC and ACWM using the following sequences: T1 SE, PD FSE fs, STIR, and T2
GETI. c) SNR enhancement analysis of the MRI images acquired with the ACWM relative to those acquired with the FLC (n = 10). d) Quantification of
the image quality scores of the images illustrated in (b) by experienced radiologists.

depends on the B0, which makes it applicable to all 1.5 T MRI
systems regardless of the manufacturers.
The proposed ACWM not only successfully eliminates the
interference in the RF transmitting field, but also homogene-
ously and significantly enhances the SNR, thus facilitating
the clinical applications of metasurfaces. However, the cur-
rent ACWM design is mainly applicable to 1.5 T MRI systems.
The limitation of the magnetic field (1.5 T) may restrict further
applications of the ACWM with the emergence of high-field
MRI systems.[38,39] Further modifications and investigations
in higher magnetic fields (3 and 7 T) are necessary to develop
further applications. Although the relatively small size of the
ACWM is convenient in applications, such as wrist imaging,
it is not suitable for imaging larger body parts. Its application
in imaging other locations requires further exploration of dif-
ferent configurations, into which the adaptive design can be
transplanted and function well.
4. Conclusion
We have reported an ACWM with homogeneous field enhance-
ment and adaptive resonant modes. The cylindrical configura-
tion ensures a homogeneous field distribution and circularly
polarized field enhancement. With adaptive resonant modes, the
ACWM performs differently in the transmitting and receiving
periods, and it not only eliminates the interference in the trans-
mitting field, but also significantly enhances the receiving field.
The ACWM is applicable to all clinical sequences and ensures
more than twice the SNR enhancement. The wireless connec-
tion feature of the ACWM also makes it applicable to different
MRI systems, regardless of the manufacturers. Our work offers
a novel method to avoid the interference of metasurfaces in the
RF transmitting field.
5. Experimental Section
Construction of the ACWM: The cylindrical substrate was manufactured
using 3D printing technology, and its inner diameter was 96 mm. The
twelve unit cells were symmetrically distributed around the cylinder
substrate. The width of the PCB was 15 mm, and its length was 250 mm.
The material of the dielectric was Rogers 4003C, and its thickness was
0.51 mm. The length of the copper on the exterior surface of PCB was
29 mm. The value of the structural capacitor CS was 32.7 pF. The variable
capacitors C1 and C2 were nonmagnetic and with the tuning range of
6.5–30 pF (Figure S1, Supporting Information).
B1+ Mapping, B1− Mapping, and SAR Mapping in the Simulation: With
the H-field monitor, the distribution of the magnetic field H could be
obtained. Assuming that the relative permeability of air and the phantom
was 1 and the magnetization was 0, B1 = H·μ0 was obtained, where μ0 is
the permeability of vacuum. B1+ and B1− are defined as complex values
in Equations (1) and (2) assuming that B0 was aligned along the z-axis.

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www.advancedsciencenews.com www.advmat.de

Figure 7. The SNR improvement achieved with the ACWM can be traded for a higher resolution and better imaging efficiency. a) MRI images of different
resolutions (isotropic) of a human wrist obtained with the FLC and ACWM. The PD FSE fs images were acquired with the following parameters: FOV
= 100 × 100 mm2, slice thickness = 3 mm, and in-plane resolutions of 0.52 × 0.52, 0.42 × 0.42, 0.31 × 0.31, and 0.20 × 0.20 mm2. b) SNR analysis of the
MRI images exemplified in (a). c) MRI images of a human wrist corresponding to different acquisition times acquired with the FLC and ACWM. The
PD FSE fs images were acquired with the following parameters: FOV = 80 × 80 mm2, slice thickness = 3 mm, and resolution = 0.48 × 0.48 mm2. The
acquisition times were adjusted by changing the NEX. d) SNR analysis of the MRI images exemplified in (c). e) PD FSE fs images of a human wrist.
The arrows denote the cartilage, the solid triangles denote the TFCC, and the empty triangles denote the synovial fluid.

Bˆ x + jBˆ y FOV = 200 × 100 mm2, repetition time (TR) = 500 ms, and echo time
Bˆ 1+ = (1) (TE) = 24 ms. The BC was used as both the transmitting and receiving
2  coil. The FA was swept from 30° to 100° (step size of 10°) and coronal
images of the phantom with and without the ACWM were acquired.
 Bˆ x − jBˆ y ∗ For the SPGR sequence, the relationship among the phantom signal,
Bˆ 1− =   (2)
 2  phantom parameters and scan parameters can be expressed as:

where the asterisk denotes a complex conjugate.[40,41] With the magnetic
S = ρ e − TE/T2
∗ (1 − e − TR/T )sinθ
1

field H, the distributions of B1+ and B1− were obtained and normalized. (3)
1 − e − TR/T1 cosθ 
The SAR mappings were acquired with MRI tools in the template-based
post-processing in the CST. where S is the phantom signal, and ρ is the proton spin density.[2,42]
Uniform Phantom Fabrication and Parameter Measurements: A uniform In this equation, TE and TR are scan parameters, and T1 and T2* are
phantom was prepared with 1.3 g of NaCl and 0.15 g of NiSO4 per 500 g the phantom parameters, where 1/T2*=1/T2 + γΔB0, and γ is the
of deionized water, which was filled in a cylindrical container made of gyromagnetic ratio of the proton, and all of these parameters will not
photosensitive resin with an inner diameter of 70 mm and an inner be altered by the ACWM. As we are interested most in the relationship
height of 120 mm. The longitudinal relaxation time T1 was measured between S and θ, Equation (1) can be rewritten as:
using an inversion recovery (IR) sequence, and the transverse relaxation
time T2 was measured using a SE sequence (90° < τ < 180°).[2]
λt and λr of the Uniform Phantom in the MRI Experiment: The phantom sinθ (4)
S =K
images were obtained using a SPGR with the following scan parameters: 1 − e − TR/T1 cosθ


Adv. Mater. 2021, 2102469 2102469 (10 of 12) © 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH
www.advancedsciencenews.com
where K is a constant related to ρ, TE, TR, and T2, and is inde-
pendent of ACWM. Substituting TR = 500 ms and T1 = 738 ms
into Equation (4), the following equation is obtained
sinθ
S =K (5)
1 − 0.51cosθ 
After adding the ACWM, its effect on both the RF transmitting and
receiving fields must be considered. Therefore, two enhancement factors
λt and λr were introduced into Equation (5), where λt and λr correspond
to the enhancement ratios of the ACWM to the real FA (transmitting
period) and signal intensity (receiving period). Then, Equation (5) can
be defined as:
sin( λ tθ )
S = λr K (6)
1 − 0.51cos ( λ tθ )

Equations (5) and (6) were used to analyze the enhancement effect
of the ACWM in both RF transmitting and receiving fields. First, the
relationship between the nominal FA θ and mean signal S in a large
region was obtained.
Furthermore, λt and λr for each voxel were determined. Without
the ACWM, λi was introduced into Equation (5) to evaluate the
inhomogeneity of the B1+ field. Then, Equation (5) becomes
sin( λ iθ )
S =K (7)
1 − 0.51cos ( λ iθ )
 and the Chinese State Key Laboratory of Tribology. The authors gratefully
Then, the signal of each voxel was considered to obtain K, λi (without
the ACWM) using Equation (5) and λr, λt (with the ACWM) using
Equation (6).
For B1+ mapping of the phantom, the relationship between the real FA
θr and B1+ field can be expressed as:
θ r = B1+ γτ  (8)
where τ is the duration of the RF transmitting field. The real FA θr
corresponds to λiθ and λtθ without and with the ACWM, respectively. γ,
τ, and the nominal FA θ are the same for all voxels. By normalizing the
λi and λt mappings, the normalized B1+ mappings without and with the
ACWM were obtained, respectively.
Microstructure Phantom: The microstructure phantom shown in
Figure 5a consists of two parts: comb structure and water. The comb
structure was made of photosensitive resin and fabricated using 3D
printing technology. It provided the requisite gaps, but had no MRI
signal. Water had a sufficiently large MRI signal and possesses good
fluidity. When the comb structure was placed in water, the latter fills the
gaps. After removing the microbubbles by vacuumizing, a microstructure
phantom was formed. In conclusion, in this microstructure phantom,
the comb structure provided the required gaps, and the water ensured
sufficiently large MRI signal.
The Resonant Frequencies in Free Space: The resonant frequencies of
the ACWM during both transmitting and receiving periods in experiment
in free space were measured using a vector network analyzer and a
probe (Figure S7, Supporting Information). The resonant frequency in
receiving period was measured directly, while the resonant frequency in
transmitting period was measured with diodes shorted by copper wires,
which represented the high-voltage state of the transmitting period
(Figure S8, Supporting Information).
MRI Experiments: All experiments were performed on the uMR570
1.5 T MRI system (United Imaging, China) and the SIGNA Explorer
1.5 T MRI system (GE Healthcare, United States). For MRI scanning, all
subjects were placed at the center of the ACWM.
Swine feet were purchased from local supermarket and stored at
−18 °C. MRI images of the swine feet were acquired with the sequence
parameters listed in Table S1, Supporting Information, unless specified
otherwise.
For the in vivo studies, ten healthy volunteers in the age range of
23–30 years were recruited. Six volunteers were female, while four were
Adv. Mater. 2021, 2102469 2102469 (11 of 12)
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male. MRI images of the volunteers were acquired with the sequence
parameters listed in Table S2, Supporting Information unless specified
otherwise. All experiments involving humans and animals were approved
by the Ethics Committee of Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital,
School of Medicine, Tsinghua University (Approval Number: 19091-0-02).
Informed consent was obtained from all the participating volunteers.
Statistical Analysis: Data are presented as the mean ± S.E.M. and
analyzed using Prism (GraphPad Software). Pair-wise comparisons were
performed using the Student’s t-test. Multiple comparisons were performed
using the two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Associations between two
numeric variables were analyzed using the Pearson correlation. The results
are considered significantly different for p values ≤0.05.
Supporting Information
Supporting Information is available from the Wiley Online Library or
from the author.
Acknowledgements
Z.C., Y.Y., and Y.W. contributed equally to this work. This work is
supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
(51872154), the Beijing Natural Science Foundation (7202240), the Beijing
Municipal Science and Technology Commission (Z191100004819001),
acknowledge discussions with Dr. R. G. Peng, and Dr. H. Q. Jiang.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the
corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Keywords
adaptive resonant modes, cylindrical configuration, magnetic resonance
imaging, metasurfaces, signal-to-noise ratio
Received: March 31, 2021
Revised: June 16, 2021
Published online:
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