Patent ID: 8723522

Claim:
A superconducting RF coil array for at least one of receiving signals from and transmitting signals to a sample during magnetic resonance analysis of the sample, the superconducting RF coil array comprising: a thermally conductive member configured to be cryogenically cooled; and a plurality of coils elements comprising superconducting material, wherein each coil element is thermally coupled to said thermally conductive member and is configured to provide a respective electrical channel for at least one of (i) receiving a magnetic resonance signal from a spatial region that is contiguous with and/or overlaps a spatial region from which at least one other of the plurality of coil elements is configured to receive a signal and (ii) transmitting a radiofrequency signal to a spatial region that is contiguous with and/or overlaps a spatial region to which at least one other of the plurality coil elements is configured to transmit a radiofrequency signal.