Advanced Intravascular MRI for Assessing Atherosclerosis

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Atherosclerosis and its complications are leading causes of morbidity and mortality. The presence and severity of disease is typically diagnosed by luminal narrowing at X-ray catheterization. Because X-ray imaging does not visualize vessel walls, it does not allow assessment of processes that precede advanced plaque formation, or the vulnerability of plaques to rupture. Other current imaging approaches have difficulty distinguishing plaque components and with spatial and temporal resolution. Such issues are identified by NHLBI as central problems for image-guided intervention. Intravascular magnetic resonance imaging (IVMRI) promises precise, high-contrast assessment of stenoses and vessel wall pathology without ionizing radiation. Previously, ~1 mm diameter biocompatible intravascular guidewires were developed as active MRI detectors for clinical 1.5 Tesla (T) scanners in our laboratories, but have not gained wide use. Maximizing speed, sensitivity and spatial resolution are key to clinical use. While whole-body 3T MRI has emerged as a new clinical research standard, delivering higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) than existing 1.5T scanners, IVMRI detectors are limited to 1.5T, and thus have not benefited from any 3T SNR gain. One problem is a 4-fold increase in potential heating of introduced metallic devices at 3T vs 1.5T, all else being constant. We present new preliminary experimental and theoretical data demonstrating an over 3-fold gain in SNR and over 10-fold increase in the area of sensitivity or field-of-view (area exhibiting the same SNR) for equivalent intravascular antennae at 3T vs 1.5T. We show that heating can be kept within safe levels during 3T MRI. Such performance gains offer huge potential for high-contrast, high-resolution IVMRI for the in vivo assessment of atherosclerosis. Aim 1 develops and tests active, biocompatible high-SNR, high-FOV intravascular guidewires for 3T MRI. Image-guided device tracking requires high-speed MRI. However, conventional MRI is locked to the scanner's frame-of-reference (FoR), requiring time-consuming "read-out" of device location to prescribe MRI gradients for new locations. Aim 2 develops a new MRI approach that uses the antenna itself for excitation, intrinsically locking the image FoR to the active end of the probe. The antenna becomes an "MR-eye", generating images of what it "sees" as it courses through an artery like an endoscope. Because the MRI-excited volume is vastly reduced to the vicinity of the probe, heating potential is greatly reduced. Aim 3 tests these new technologies in an in vivo rabbit atherosclerosis model, where the aorta is of comparable diameter to human coronary arteries. These developments will form a basis for future human use. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]