title: Remote control of catheter tip deflection: an opportunity for interventional MRI.
abstract: This study seeks to exploit the high magnetic field environment of a clinical MRI scanner and demonstrate the technical feasibility of developing a catheter whose tip can be remotely oriented within the magnetic field by applying a DC current to a coil wound around the catheter tip to generate a magnetic moment and consequent deflection. To achieve arbitrary three-dimensional deflections, a three-axis coil was wound on a 1.5 Fr cylindrical catheter. By applying DC currents in the 100 mA range, this catheter was successfully guided through a 3D phantom maze, mimicking the vasculature, under MR imaging guidance. Feasibility was demonstrated that the strong ambient magnetic field of the MR scanner offers a special opportunity to develop simple devices that can be remotely steered to sites of clinical interest.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA. Tim.Roberts@utoronto.ca
authors.forename: T P L
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: W V
authors.initials: WV
authors.lastname: Hassenzahl
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Hetts
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Arenson
mesh_terms: D016477:Artifacts; D002404:Catheterization; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D015642:Radiology, Interventional; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*