Thermometry
Within our project laser induced thermotherapies under MRI guidance are being developed. These therapies include percutaneous decompression of terminated vertebral disc material (PLDD, percutaneous laser disc decompression) and ablation of liver tumors and metastases (LITT, laser induced thermotherapy).
During this minimally invasive laser-therapies MRI slice-images of the treated organ allow the operator to better navigate his/her instruments and assess the specific organ position. A temperature map enables the interventionalist to determine the extent of the laser induced thermal tissue damage.
It is the aim of this part of our project to develop a real time method for temperature visualization that is specifically optimized in its special and temporal resolution for laser thermotherapy. The method will first be established in a gel phantom. Hereafter thermometry will further be modified in porcine in vitro and in vivo experimentation and finally implemented to assist patient therapy.
Temperature visualization in MRI is based on temperature dependent changes of longitudinal relaxation times (T1) or proton resonance frequency (PRF). This kind of temperature measurement is non invasive and calculated with specific algorithms from MRI image data sets which we acquired during therapy.
Uta Wonneberger
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