MEMoRIAL-M1.9 | Current visualisation during radiofrequency ablation (RFA) with MR coils

Due to the very good soft tissue contrast and the possibility of thermometry, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a promising imaging modality for monitoring ablation procedures such as Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA).
The RFA generator, however, produces interferences, which strongly hamper the intraoperative imaging.

In the course of this project, a concept will be created to directly connect the ablation electrode to the high-frequency amplifier of the MRI. RF pulses necessary for both - the intraoperative imaging and ablation - would consequently be produced by the MRI, obviating the need for any (additional) ablation generator. The MRI advantages, nevertheless, need to be preserved.

Based on this concept of an "Ablation-MRI-Hybrid System" it should be possible to reconstruct the ablation current by measuring the magnetic field distribution generated by an electrode. Furthermore, numerical considerations of the electromagnetic and thermodynamic interactions are supposed to support this reconstruction process of the ablation current.