Imaging coils are radio frequency coils used in magnetic resonance imaging for sending and/or receiving electromagnetic radiation. Several MR imaging coils in different shapes and sizes are necessary for different body parts and to handle individual applications.
For Example:
Birdcage coils provide high homogeneity and good signal to noise ratio (SNR) in brain MRI scans.
Surface coils with small coil diameter and higher SNR enable to image the temporomandibular joints (TMJ).
The implemented body coil allows the scanning of body parts with large field of views.
Micro coils are available to image finger joints.
High performance phased array coils are today state-of-the-art for a wide range of applications from head, spine, knee or shoulder to cardiac MRI.
For different types of coils see Volume Coil, Sense Coil, Array Coil, Surface Coil, and Bird Cage Coil.

See also the related poll result: '3rd party coils are better than the original manufacturer coils'

Knee and shoulder MRI exams are the most commonly requested musculoskeletal MRI scans. Other MR imaging of the extremities includes hips, ankles, elbows, and wrists. Orthopedic imaging requires very high spatial resolution for reliable small structure definition and therefore places extremely high demands on SNR.
Exact presentation of joint pathology expects robust and reliable fat suppression, often under difficult conditions like off-center FOV, imaging at the edge of the field homogeneity or in regions with complex magnetic susceptibility.
MR examinations can evaluate meniscal dislocations, muscle fiber tears, tendon disruptions, tendinitis, and diagnose bone tumors and soft tissue masses. MR can also demonstrate acute fractures that are radiographically impossible to see. Evaluation of articular cartilage for traumatic injury or assessment of degenerative disease represents an imaging challenge, which can be overcome by high field MRI applications. Currently, fat-suppressed 3D spoiled gradient echo sequences and density weighted fast spin echo sequences are the gold-standard techniques used to assess articular cartilage.
Open MRI procedures allow the kinematic imaging of joints, which provides added value to any musculoskeletal MRI practice. This technique demonstrates the actual functional impingements or positional subluxations of joints. In knee MRI examinations, the kinematical patellar study can show patellofemoral joint abnormalities.

See also Open MRI, Knee MRI, Low Field MRI.

1) Fidelity of response, e.g. of magnetic field gradients or the RF system, to input. The output of a linear system is directly proportional to its input.
2) Spatial uniformity of the magnetic field gradient over the imaging volume. Because of eddy current effects, static and dynamic linearity have to be distinguished. Both together with the magnet homogeneity determine the geometrical correctness of the images.

The spherical volume in the center of the magnetic field where the field has a defined homogeneity. Measured objects must always be positioned in the measurement field.

Quick Overview

A moiré pattern is an interference pattern created for example when two grids are overlaid at an angle, or when they have slightly different mesh sizes. The human visual system creates an imaginary pattern of roughly horizontal dark and light bands, the moiré pattern that appears to be superimposed on the lines.
In MRI, the appearance of moiré fringes can be caused by a variety of reasons e.g., inhomogeneity of the main magnetic field caused by a defect shielding (interference with RF pulses), interferences produced by aliasing, and interferences of echoes from different excitation modes (with different echo times).

Take spin echo-based techniques, or a surface coil. This artifact is often sensitive to shimming or susceptibility gradients.