Setup of an Ablation Magnetic Resonance Imaging Hybrid System: Using MR Imaging Sequences to Destroy Tissue

The need of external ablation generators complicates the setup of magnetic resonance (MR) guided interventions, e. g. due to inserting devices with ferrite components into the MR room or because of image distortions due to RF interferences. By using the power provided from the MR internal power amplifier, it is possible to avoid external ablation generators. Using imaging sequences with a high duty cycle, a sufficient mean power value can be generated to destroy tissue. In this paper, it has been shown that it is possible to destroy tissue with such an ablation MRI hybrid system. Simulations were done to calculate the specific absorption rate (SAR) generated by an ablation electrode at the Larmor frequency for a 3 T MR device. The SAR values were then compared with ablation experiments performed inside an MR device with protein phantoms.