A coil interface is capable of coupling an array of coils to a magnetic resonance
(MR) system. The MR system is equipped with a predetermined number of receivers.
The coil interface includes a plurality of input ports, a plurality of output ports,
and an interface circuit disposed therebetween. The plurality of input ports is
used to couple the interface circuit to the coils of the array. The plurality of
output ports is used to couple the interface circuit to the receivers of the MR
system. The interface circuit is used to selectively interconnect at least two
of the input ports to at least one of the output ports, thereby allowing the array
of coils to be selectively operated in any one of a plurality of operational modes.
