Concurrent multiscale imaging with magnetic resonance imaging and optical coherence tomography

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Surgical Technology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Intra-operative magnetic resonance imaging (iMRI) offers guidance for precise surgeries but lacks resolution for small targets.
• Current iMRI limitations hinder the visualization of microscale tissue architecture during procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel platform for high-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
• To integrate OCT's microscale imaging with MRI's macroscale visualization for improved surgical guidance.

Main Methods:

• A tele-operated, MRI-compatible robot was developed to house an OCT needle probe.
• The system performs continuous, large field-of-view OCT imaging under real-time iMRI guidance.
• Co-registration of MRI and OCT data was performed on ex vivo tissue samples.

Main Results:

• The integrated system successfully provided simultaneous macroscale MRI and microscale OCT imaging.
• Coregistered images demonstrated complementary information on tissue morphology and architecture.
• Ex vivo tests on chicken breast and human brain tissues validated the platform's capabilities.

Conclusions:

• The novel MRI-guided OCT platform enhances surgical precision by combining imaging scales.
• This technology has significant potential to improve the efficiency and accuracy of iMRI procedures.
• The complementary nature of MRI and OCT offers a powerful tool for real-time surgical guidance.