5- Interventional MR Imaging Safety: RF Heating

RF heating may occur in presence of metallic parts (catheter in interventional MRI) or implants. In absence of an in vivo assessment of the temperature elevation, RF heating is considered hazardous and thus MR imaging involving metallic part in the patient body is prohibited. Since 2004, the team has investigated two temperature monitoring MR sequences for assessing the temperature elevation caused by MR imaging in the vicinity of a metallic wire: PRFS and T1-based imaging. The ability of T1-based thermometry image acquisition and a methodology for assessing a 1°C rise up temperature within a 1x1x20 mm3 region caused by MR Imaging sequence has been demonstrated in vitro on a 1.5T clinical MR unit and transferred successfully for higher field on a 4.7T small animal MR unit.