The public multi-coil information (PUMCIN) policy.

PURPOSE: Multi-coil (MC) magnetic field modeling has emerged as a viable alternative to conventional field generation based on spherical harmonic shapes, and an active MC community is forming. Although all MC applications share the same modeling concept, the specific MC designs can largely differ as a result of disparities in region of interest (eg, human versus rodent), intended MR application (eg, B0 shimming versus spatial encoding), or other experimental constraints (eg, available bore space or integration with radiofrequency technology). To date, a lack of detailed information on existing MC designs complicates the assessment and precludes a meaningful comparison.

METHODS: Here, we suggest that future publications involving the MC technique not only report the benefits for the application at hand, but also include an explicit description of the MC wire pattern used.

RESULTS: This public multi-coil information (PUMCIN) policy represents a voluntary commitment to promoting free public access to the details necessary for reproducing and benefiting from MC research.

CONCLUSIONS: The PUMCIN policy is expected to initiate a paradigm shift with respect to the way MC innovation is reported. By setting an example, we hope to encourage the evolving MC community to maximize the benefits for science and society by embracing it. Magn Reson Med 78:2042-2047, 2017. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.