title: Real-time monitoring of radiofrequency ablation of rabbit liver by respiratory-gated quantitative temperature MRI.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the feasibility and precision of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) thermometry for monitoring radiofrequency (RF) liver ablation in vivo and predicting the size of the ablation zone.
  
  
  METHODS
  At 1.5T, respiratory-triggered real-time MR temperature mapping (the proton resonance frequency (PRF) method) was used to monitor RF ablation in rabbit liver (N = 6) under free breathing. The size of the ablation zones, as assessed by histological analyses, was compared with that predicted from MR thermal dose (TD) maps or derived from conventional T1-weighted (T1w), T2-weighted (T2w), and T1w gadolinium (Gd)-enhanced (T1w-Gd) images acquired immediately after the ablation, and on days 4 and 8 postprocedure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MR temperature uncertainty remained under 1-2 degrees C even during RF deposition. The TD maps were shown to be more predictive and precise than the other MR images, with an average predictive precision for the final ablation zone size of about 1 mm as compared to the histologically proven lesion on day 8.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Quantitative temperature MRI during RF ablation is feasible and offered a precise indication of the ablation zone size in this preclinical study based on the lethal dose threshold.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Imagerie Moléculaire et Fonctionnelle, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Matthieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lepetit-Coiffé
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Quesson
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Seror
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dumont
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Le Bail
authors.forename: Chrit T W
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Moonen
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Trillaud
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D006358:Hot Temperature; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D011522:Protons; D011817:Rabbits; D012119:Respiration; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D011522:Protons