USC team prints MRI coils for just $30 per unit
Silver-ink coils fabricated in under 10 minutes deliver four times sharper images, according to researchers and outperform $50,000 commercial units
MRI coils — specialized antennas placed against the body to detect radiofrequency signals from tissue — currently cost between $10,000 and $50,000 each. They require complex manufacturing and follow rigid one-size-fits-all designs that limit anatomical contact and reduce image quality.
Now, researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have developed a 3D printed alternative that brings consumable material costs to approximately $30 per element.
The project, led by Yasser Khan, Assistant Professor in the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at USC, and Krishna Nayak, a professor of electrical and computer engineering who leads the Dynamic Imaging Science Center (DISC), printed the coils using a silver ink formulation on a TPU substrate.
Doing so achieved approximately 95% of the signal efficiency of standard copper coils, while remaining flexible enough to conform closely to the body. Each element was fabricated in as little as eight minutes using a Voltera NOVA direct-ink-write printer and standard Gerber files.
In wrist imaging trials, the arrays delivered four times higher contrast and five times greater sharpness than commercial coils. Doctoral student Félix Muñoz, who co-led the research, noted that the small quantity of silver required per coil keeps consumable costs to roughly $30 per element, despite silver being a precious metal.
Pediatric patients as the first clinical target
John Wood, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Radiology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and a collaborator at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, described the technology as “a game changer” for detecting undiagnosed conditions in children and infants.
He also explained that current coils are designed for adults and poorly adapted for pediatric use. “An infant’s heart can be as small as a walnut,” Wood said, requiring precision that standard non-customizable designs cannot deliver.
Khan stated the team’s next step is patient testing, with Nayak identifying pediatric lung imaging as the likely first clinical application. “It starts with a signal,” Wood stated, adding that stronger signal capture could improve diagnostic accuracy across a wide range of diseases.
