3D Targeting of a Magnetic Particle in Blood Vessels Using a Field-Free Point in an Open-Type Electromagnetic Actuation System

Recent research has increasingly focused on delivering drug-carrying magnetic particles to diseased areas using electromagnetic actuation (EMA) systems. Particularly, in these systems, creating a field-free point (FFP) and using it to steer magnetic particles in the desired direction has attracted significant attention. However, most previous studies use closed-type EMA systems, which, due to their structural characteristics, are difficult to integrate into actual surgical environments and to operate in conjunction with external imaging systems like X-ray. This study addresses these limitations by using an open-type EMA system, which is better suited for surgical integration. However, an open-type EMA system faces issues such as a significant decrease in magnetic force and an anisotropic magnetic field as the distance from the coils increases in the region of interest (ROI). To overcome these challenges, we optimized the open-type EMA system and proposed a suitable FFP generation method. Furthermore, we presented a targeting algorithm for steering a magnetic particle in blood vessels using anisotropic FFP. This proposed open-type EMA system and the control strategy using FFP were validated through multiphysics simulations and phantom experiments, proving the viability of magnetic particle targeting.