Temperature mapping using proton phase shift on a 0.3 T permanent magnet open MRI system

Temperature mapping using proton phase shift (PPS) was evaluated for ex vivo objects. The evaluation was done on a 0.3 T permanent magnet open magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine, like those widely used for clinical diagnosis. Temperature maps were acquired using a gradient echo sequence (TR/TE =80/30 ms, flip angle =60 degrees, field of view =200 x 200 mm, slice thickness =8 mm, matrix size =128 x 128, data acquisition number =1, and imaging time =10.2 s). Specific first order data correction was performed to eliminate calculated temperature fluctuation due to magnetic field instability. A ham, 10 cm in diameter, was heated with a Nd: YAG laser with a wavelength of 1064 nm. The laser fiber was inserted into the ham to a depth of 3 cm. The laser power was 5, 8, or 10 W. Magnetic resonance images were taken continually during and after irradiation. Temperature maps were taken every 15 s. The maps taken during laser ablation showed color changes for the heated areas. Temperatures measured by the MRI and thermocouple had a linear relationship of r2 =0.80. The inter-image standard deviation of the temperature maps of a non-heated object was 2.07 degrees for a 4.68 x 4.68 x 8 mm volume. This value is negligible for a monitored laser heating process since temperature rise is typically larger than 30 degrees. These results show that temperature mapping based on PPS is feasible for a 0.3 T permanent magnet open MRI system. (author)