Patent ID: 7394253

Claim:
A radio frequency coil assembly for receiving a radio frequency magnetic resonance signal generated in a tested person based on a gradient magnetic field pulse and a radio frequency magnetic field pulse applied to the tested person under a static magnetic field according to a predetermined sequence, the radio frequency coil assembly comprising: a plurality of first radio frequency coils which are arranged to be adjacent to each other in a first direction; and a second radio frequency coil which is structurally decoupled from the first radio frequency coils wherein at least one of said coils has a shape different from another one of said coils to increase local sensitivity, wherein the second radio frequency coil is disposed in the first direction to cover an image-picked-up region substantially equivalent to the image-picked-up region which is covered by the first radio frequency coils, and wherein the second radio frequency coil is a single cross coil which is shaped to cross at least N times in the first direction, and wherein N is a number of the first radio frequency coils.