MRI thermography for cardiac lesion assessment

• US 10,638,932 B2
• Filed: 11/09/2016
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Biosense Webster Israel Ltd. (Johnson & Johnson)
• Original Assignee: Biosense Webster Israel Ltd. (Johnson & Johnson)
• Inventors: Gliner, Vadim, Boumendil, Alon
• Primary Examiner(s): Brutus, Joel F
• Application Number:
  US15/346,901
• Publication Number:
  US 20180125367A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,273 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1492 having a flexible, catheter-like structure, e.g. for heart ablation A61B18/1477 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00351 Heart
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00577 Ablation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00791 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00839 Bioelectrical parameters, e.g. ECG, EEG
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2051 Electromagnetic tracking systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/374 NMR or MRI
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2576/023 for the heart
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0044 for the heart
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/015 By temperature mapping of body part
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/066 Superposing sensor position on an image of the patient, e.g. obtained by ultrasound or x-ray imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7214 using signal cancellation, e.g. based on input of two identical physiological sensors spaced apart, or based on two signals derived from the same sensor, for different optical wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/285 Invasive instruments, e.g. catheters or biopsy needles, specially adapted for tracking, guiding or visualization by NMR
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/4804 Spatially selective measurement of temperature or pH
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/567 gated by physiological signals , i.e. synchronization of acquired MR data with periodical motion of an object of interest, e.g. monitoring or triggering system for cardiac or respiratory gating
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/5673 Gating or triggering based on a physiological signal other than an MR signal, e.g. ECG gating or motion monitoring using optical systems for monitoring the motion of a fiducial marker
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/40 for processing medical images, e.g. editing

Abstract

Described embodiments include an apparatus that includes an electrical interface and a processor. The processor is configured to receive via the electrical interface, from a plurality of sensors, a first signal that indicates a location of an intrabody tool inside a body of a subject, and a second signal that indicates a phase, of a physiological motion cycle of the subject, at which the first signal was acquired. The processor is further configured to acquire, using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, a set of multiple images at the location indicated by the first signal, over a portion, of a subsequent physiological motion cycle of the subject, that includes the phase indicated by the second signal. Other embodiments are also described.

Claims

1. Apparatus for improving ablation tracking, comprising:

an electrical interface; and

a processor, configured;

to receive via the electrical interface, from a plurality of sensors, a first signal that indicates a location and orientation of an intrabody tool inside a body of a subject, and a second signal that indicates a phase;

of a physiological motion cycle of the subject, at which the first signal was acquired, and

to acquire, using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, a set of multiple images at the location indicated by the first signal, over a portion, of a subsequent physiological motion cycle of the subject, that includes the phase indicated by the second signal, the processor defining a scan plane covering a pathway of the intrabody tool, a scan window that covers a portion of the physiological motion cycle that is approximately temporally centered around the phase of the physiological motion cycle at the location and orientation of the intrabody tool, and a number of images to be captured in the scan window, the set of multiple images are captured at various phases within the scan window.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first signal further indicates an orientation of the intrabody tool, and wherein the processor is configured to acquire the set of multiple images along the orientation of the intrabody tool.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the portion of the subsequent motion cycle is temporally centered on the phase indicated by the second signal.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the motion cycle is a cardiac cycle, and the subsequent motion cycle is a subsequent cardiac cycle.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the intrabody tool includes an ablation catheter, and wherein the processor is configured to acquire the set of multiple images while the ablation catheter is ablating a portion of cardiac tissue.

6. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the portion of the subsequent cardiac cycle has a duration of 70-130 ms.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the set of multiple images includes between 10 and 20 images.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to acquire a plurality of sets of images over, respectively, a plurality of subsequent physiological motion cycles of the subject.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to select, from the set, a selected image that shows the intrabody tool better than other images of the set, by matching a template image, which shows the intrabody tool, to the set of multiple images.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to update a temperature map, using a phase image that corresponds to the selected image.

11. A method for improving ablation tracking, comprising:

receiving, from a plurality of sensors, a first signal that indicates a location and orientation of an intrabody tool inside a body of a subject, and a second signal that indicates a phase, of a physiological motion cycle of the subject, at which the first signal was acquired; and

using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, acquiring a set of multiple images at the location indicated by the first signal, over a portion, of a subsequent physiological motion cycle of the subject, that includes the phase indicated by the second signal;

processing, via a processor, the first signal, the second signal and the set of multiple images, the processor defining a scan plane covering a pathway of the intrabody tool, a scan window that covers a portion of the physiological motion cycle that is approximately temporally centered around the phase of the physiological motion cycle at the location and orientation of the intrabody tool, and a number of images to be captured in the scan window, the set of multiple images are captured at various phases within the scan window.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first signal further indicates an orientation of the intrabody tool, and wherein acquiring the set of images comprises acquiring the set of multiple images along the orientation of the intrabody tool.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the portion of the subsequent motion cycle is temporally centered on the phase indicated by the second signal.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the motion cycle is a cardiac cycle, and the subsequent motion cycle is a subsequent cardiac cycle.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the intrabody tool includes an ablation catheter, and wherein acquiring the set of multiple images comprises acquiring the set of images while the ablation catheter is ablating a portion of cardiac tissue.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein the portion of the subsequent cardiac cycle has a duration of 70-130 ms.

17. The method according to claim 11, wherein the set of multiple images includes between 10 and 20 images.

18. The method according to claim 11, comprising acquiring a plurality of sets of images over, respectively, a plurality of subsequent physiological motion cycles of the subject.

19. The method according to claim 11, further comprising automatically selecting, from the set, a selected image that shows the intrabody tool better than other images of the set, by matching a template image, which shows the intrabody tool, to the set of multiple images.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising updating a temperature map, using a phase image that corresponds to the selected image.