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Tissue thermal conductivity by magnetic resonance thermometry and focused ultrasound heating
Author(s) -
Cheng HaiLing Margaret,
Plewes Donald B.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/jmri.10199
Subject(s) - materials science , thermal conductivity , ultrasound , magnetic resonance imaging , transducer , biomedical engineering , perfusion , thermal ablation , ablation , interventional magnetic resonance imaging , scanner , temperature measurement , nuclear magnetic resonance , radiology , medicine , acoustics , optics , physics , composite material , quantum mechanics
Purpose To investigate the combined use of magnetic resonance (MR) temperature imaging and focused ultrasound (FUS) for the noninvasive determination of tissue thermal properties. Materials and Methods Brief, spatial impulses of temperature elevation were created in tissue using a spherical, air‐backed transducer operating at 1.68 MHz and measured using MR temperature imaging in a 1.5‐Tesla clinical scanner. A novel technique based on thermal washout is applied in an analysis of the acquired MR temperature images to estimate tissue thermal conductivity and perfusion. Results Numerical simulations and experiments in vitro and in vivo demonstrate that thermal conductivity can be measured to within 10% of the true value with MR thermometry at 1.5 Tesla. With the temperature precision available at 1.5 Tesla, however, robust perfusion estimation is feasible only in highly perfused organs or tumors. Conclusion This study has developed a method for determining tissue thermal properties specific to the patient and organ at the site of interest, and allows repeated application. This capability is relevant in thermal therapy planning of tumor ablation using MR‐guided FUS systems. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2002;16:598–609. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.