Patent ID: 7808241

Claim:
A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising: static magnetic field generation means for generating a static magnetic field in a vertical direction; imaging means for applying a high frequency magnetic field and a gradient magnetic field to a subject that is to be imaged and located in the static magnetic field; and receiving means for receiving a nuclear magnetic resonance signal generated by the subject to be imaged, the receiving means having a receiving coil composed of a plurality of types of sub coils; wherein the receiving coil has a first sub coil and a second sub coil, the first sub coil forms a current loop around the subject to be imaged, the second sub coil is constituted by a pair of surface coils that face each other, are arranged between the subject to be imaged and the vicinities of the surface of the subject to be imaged, respectively have one cross point, and are conducted to each other or are substantially conducted to each other, and when a plane in which the current loop of the first sub coil is located is regarded as a standard plane, the second sub coil is arranged to ensure that the cross points of the surface coils are present in a plane located at substantially the same position as the standard plane.