Patent ID: 8604789

Claim:
Apparatus for use in Magnetic Resonance imaging of a part of a patient comprising: a patient support table; a magnet arranged to generate a magnetic field at the patient support table; an RF coil for use in the MR imaging; the RF coil including an upper coil portion for location on top of the patient and a lower coil portion for location underneath the patient; the upper coil portion having two side edges, a front edge and a rear edge; wherein the upper coil portion is formed of a flexible material allowing the coil to be flexed about axes parallel to the side edges to form different arch shapes by flexing of the flexible material; with at least one stiffening member attached to the flexible material and movable therewith and having a resistance to bending which is arranged such that said at least one stiffening member acts to hold the flexible material in the different arch shapes; said at least one stiffening member comprising an elongate body extending across the upper coil portion in a direction transverse to the side edges of the upper coil portion at a position spaced from the front and rear edges; wherein said at least one stiffening member comprises a plurality of separate pieces each connected to the next along the length of the elongate body; and wherein each piece is pivotally movable relative to the next so that bending of the stiffening member occurs by the pivotal movement between each piece and the next.