Real-time multipoint gastrointestinal 19-fluorine catheter tracking

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering
• Gastroenterology

Background:

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is crucial for visualizing internal structures.
• Accurate tracking of gastrointestinal (GI) devices during MRI is challenging.
• Fluorine-19 (19F) MRI offers unique advantages for tracking and imaging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a real-time MRI-based system for tracking 19F-labeled GI catheters.
• To enable real-time visualization of 3D catheter shape and movement.
• To allow for catheter-driven adjustments of 1H MRI imaging parameters.

Main Methods:

• Utilized 3D Golden Angle radial sampling on a 3T clinical MRI system.
• Tracked GI catheters with 19F fiducial markers in a gel phantom at various speeds.
• Implemented real-time k-space data transfer and 3D 19F image reconstruction for visualization.

Main Results:

• Achieved high tracking reliabilities (94.5% and 83.6%) with temporal resolutions of 185-740 ms.
• Demonstrated rapid reconstruction times of 196 ms.
• Real-time visual feedback enabled accurate catheter control and reliable guidance for 1H imaging.

Conclusions:

• The developed real-time 19F MRI framework effectively tracks 19F-labeled devices.
• This technology is suitable for combined 19F and 1H MRI guidance of GI devices in vivo.
• Enables enhanced precision and safety in gastrointestinal interventions.