One key limitation of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging is low sensitivity from faint nuclear magnetic spins. This is not as much of a problem in large human-size image elements, but for analysis of mice models, particularly those used in brain research, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is prohibitive. The 9.4T Mouse Brain Quadrature CryoProbe from Bruker BioSpin AG and Bruker BioSpin MRI GmbH, Faellenden, Switzerland, combines a variety of improvements to reduce measurement time by a factor of five over other MRI instruments.

The CryoProbe uses RF coils cooled to 30 K and integrated cooled RF preamplifiers to lower thermal noise, allowing a two or three magnitude amplification increase. The system is closed-loop to preserve coolant. A two-coil receiving system sensitive to perpendicular RF field vectors further increases the SNR. These systems, in combination with a relatively high 9.4 T (400-Mhz NMR frequency) magnetic field, yield performance advantages useful in functional MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy.