Magnetic backprojection imaging for the assessment of the vascular lumen

The authors point out that blood vessels can operate as electric conductors when small amounts of current are injected. The currents generate magnetic fields which can be detected by Hall effect sensors. By the backprojection of detected magnetic field, the location of the blood stream was obtained with a maximum position error of about /spl plusmn/7.5% in the prototype system. Such magnetic backprojection imaging (MBI) could potentially be utilized to detect the development of atheromatous plaques on the interior lumen of vessels.<>