MR GUIDANCE OF VASCULAR INTERVENTIONS has

Purpose: To test wireless resonance circuits (RC) to be used as fiducial marker of endovascular catheters during MR-guided interventions. Current markers loose their signal enhancement for certain catheter orientations. The purpose of this study was to test a marker setup which overcomes this orientation problem. Materials and Methods: The markers were constructed from a pair of two RCs. The RCs were individually tuned and the coil axes were oriented perpendicular to each other in order to decouple the two RCs. The markers were mounted on the tip of endovascular catheters and tested in vitro and in one porcine in vivo experiment. Results: An intense MR signal at similar signal levels was noted at all catheter orientations. In the in vivo experiment the markers allowed for fast and reliable MR guidance of the catheters. Conclusion: A pair of two individually tuned and decoupled RCs is well suited for MR guidance of endovascular catheters. Key Words: interventional MRI; catheter tracking; resonance circuits; patient safety; endovascular interventio