Brain therapy

• US 20040167392A1
• Filed: 03/02/2004
• Published: 08/26/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Albert Lardo, Elliot R. Mcveigh, Ergin Atalar, Henry R. Halperin, Hugh Calkins, Joao Lima, Ronald D. Berger
• Original Assignee: Albert Lardo, Elliot R. Mcveigh, Ergin Atalar, Henry R. Halperin, Hugh Calkins, Joao Lima, Ronald D. Berger
• Inventors: Berger, Ronald D., McVeigh, Elliot R., Halperin, Henry R., Atalar, Ergin, Calkins, Hugh, Lima, Joao, Lardo, Albert
• Granted Patent: US 7,412,276 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/411
• 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 2017/00039 Electric or electromagnetic phenomena other than conductivity, e.g. capacity, inductivity, Hall effect
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00053 Mapping
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/374 NMR or MRI
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/415 the glands, e.g. tonsils, adenoids or thymus
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/418 lymph vessels, ducts or nodes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/36 Image-producing devices or illumination devices not otherwise provided for
• 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 33/34084 implantable coils or coils being geometrically adaptable to the sample, e.g. flexible coils or coils comprising mutually movable parts
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/4808 Multimodal MR, e.g. MR combined with positron emission tomography [PET], MR combined with ultrasound or MR combined with computed tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/5601 involving use of a contrast agent for contrast manipulation, e.g. a paramagnetic, super-paramagnetic, ferromagnetic or hyperpolarised contrast agent

Abstract

A method of performing brain therapy may include placing a subject in a main magnetic field, introducing into the subject'"'"'s brain a combination imaging and therapeutic probe, the probe including a magnetic resonance imaging antenna and an electrical energy application element, acquiring a first magnetic resonance image from the antenna of the combination probe, acquiring a second magnetic resonance image from a surface coil, combining the first and second magnetic resonance images to produce a composite image, positioning the combination probe within the brain with guidance from at least one of the images, and delivering electrical energy to the brain from the electrical energy application element of the combination probe thus positioned.

Claims

1. A method of performing brain therapy, comprising:

placing a subject in a main magnetic field;

introducing into the subject'"'"'s brain a combination imaging and therapeutic probe, the probe including a magnetic resonance imaging antenna and an electrical energy application element;

acquiring a first magnetic resonance image from the antenna of the combination probe;

acquiring a second magnetic resonance image from a surface coil;

combining the first and second magnetic resonance images to produce a composite image;

positioning the combination probe within the brain with guidance from at least one of the images; and

delivering electrical energy to the brain from the electrical energy application element of the combination probe thus positioned.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the combination probe is positioned with guidance from the composite image.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

acquiring a plurality of first images;

acquiring a plurality of respective second images; and

combining each of the plurality of first images with its respective second image to produce a plurality of respective composite images.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising constructing a three-dimensional rendering of the brain from a plurality of the composite images.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the images are generated in real time or near-real time.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the images are generated at a rate of at least 10 frames per second.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the combination probe further comprises at least one diagnostic electrode, and the method further comprises measuring an electrical potential with the diagnostic electrode.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising guiding a mapping procedure with at least one of the images.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising constructing an electrical activation map of the brain with potentials thus measured.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising positioning the combination probe with guidance from the composite image to measure the electrical potential.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying an RF ablative current to the subject from the electrical energy application element.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising locating an anatomic target on at least one of the images.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising introducing a magnetic resonance contrast agent to enhance at least one of the images.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the magnetic resonance imaging antenna and the electrical energy application element are separate components of the combination probe.

15. A system for performing brain therapy, comprising:

a magnetic resonance machine having a surface coil and means for generating a main magnetic field;

a combination imaging and therapeutic probe, the probe including a magnetic resonance imaging antenna and an electrical energy application element;

means for acquiring a first magnetic resonance image from the antenna of the combination probe;

means for acquiring a second magnetic resonance image from the surface coil;

means for combining the first and second magnetic resonance images to produce a composite image;

means for positioning the combination probe within the brain with guidance from at least one of the images; and

means for delivering electrical energy to the brain from the electrical energy application element of the combination probe thus positioned.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the combination probe further comprises a diagnostic electrode.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the magnetic resonance imaging antenna and the electrical energy application element are separate components of the combination probe.

18. The system of claim 15, further comprising:

means for acquiring a plurality of first images;

means for acquiring a plurality of respective second images; and

means combining each of the plurality of first images with the respective second image to produce a plurality of respective composite images.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising means for generating real-time images.

20. A system for performing brain therapy, comprising:

a combination imaging and therapeutic probe, the probe including a magnetic resonance imaging antenna and an electrical energy application element;

means for acquiring a magnetic resonance image from the antenna of the combination probe;

means for positioning the combination probe within the brain with guidance at least in part from the image; and

means for delivering electrical energy to the brain from the electrical energy application element of the combination probe thus positioned.