Towards active guidewire visualization in interventional magnetic resonance imaging.
Improving the visibility of interventional devices is of paramount importance if MRI-guided fluoroscopy is to become a reality. Passive visualization is problematic in that the susceptibility-induced artifacts are material- and orientation-dependent. Here a concept is presented for making interventional devices visible. It involves fitting a device with a straight-wire antenna. As the sensitivity of such an antenna is highest for signal sources in the immediate neighborhood, using the antenna for reception gives an outline image. In this manner a guidewire or other interventional device could be made MRI-visible. The image appearance of a straight-wire antenna depends on the orientation of the device with respect to the main magnetic field and imaging plane. This phenomena is discussed theoretically and documented with MR images.
McKinnon
G C
GC
Department of Radiology, University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland.
Debatin
J F
JF
Leung
D A
DA
Wildermuth
S
S
Holtz
D J
DJ
von Schulthess
G K
GK
D002404:Catheterization / Q000379:methods; D005471:Fluoroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008432:Mathematical Computing