In this paper we demonstrate the effectiveness of an active optical detuning circuit for magnetic resonance imaging endoluminal receiver coil. Three endoluminal coils prototypes were built: a coil without any detuning circuit, a coil with a galvanic (classic) detuning circuit using a PIN diode, and a coil with an optical detuning circuit using two photodiodes in parallel with a PIN diode. These coils were built and characterized on a laboratory experimental bench. Then, an in vitro experiment was performed with a 3.0 T MR system to evaluate the impact of the endoluminal receiver coils in detuned phase on the image uniformity distribution measured using the body coil. Next, the endoluminal coil was used as a receiver coil to compare the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) distribution based on iso-contour maps. On experimental bench, the results show an increase delay of the switching times (tuned-detuned or detuned-tuned) for optical-detuned coils of about 10 μs due to the electro-optical circuits, delay still compatible with requirements. When the body coil is used as a transceiver, the SNR uniformity is similar whether the galvanic or the optical detuning circuit is used. Finally, the SNR iso-contours of the different endoluminal coils prototypes are comparable.