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[Stent placement with real time MRI guidance: initial animal experiment experiences]
A Bücker1, J M Neuerburg, G Adam
1Klinik für Radiologische Diagnostik, Medizinische Fakultät der Rheinisch-Westfälischen, Technischen Hochschule Aachen. buecker@linus.rad.rwth-aachen.de
Purpose:
The aim of this study was to test the feasibility of iliac artery stent placement under MR guidance with real-time MR radial scanning in an animal model.
Materials And Methods:
The experiments were performed on three pigs in a 1.5 T scanner. Radial scanning with a gradient echo technique (TR 8.4 ms, TE 3.6 ms, flip angle 10 degrees) was used. A dedicated backprojector performed the reconstruction of the raw data in real-time. The resulting MR-images were displayed on LCD screens beside the magnet. The sliding window reconstruction technique allowed image acquisition at a frame rate of 16 images per second. MR-compatible self-expanding stents with a diameter of 8 mm and a length of 3 cm were placed into the left iliac artery. Their positions were verified by digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and compared to MRI.
Results:
All stents were successfully placed. Stent positions as monitored by real-time MR were identical to those seen on DSA images. The time needed for exact positioning of the scan plane ranged from 15 to 30 minutes. Stent placement itself took 8 minutes on average.
Conclusion:
Radial scanning applied together with the sliding window reconstruction technique allows placement of stents in iliac arteries under real-time MR control.