Janusz Henryk Hankiewicz1, Jason Nobles1, Zbigniew Celinski1, Karl Stupic2, and Robert Camley1
1UCCS Center for Biofrontiers Institute, University Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, United States, 2National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO, United States
The aim of this study was
to develop a novel temperature-sensitive MRI contrast agent based on
temperature changes of the magnetic moment of magnetic particles. Gadolinium was
used to test the hypothesis that magnetic particles will create a
temperature-dependent local dipole magnetic field. This
effect was locally visible as a temperature dependent darkening on
gradient-echo MRI images. Shades of gray within the images can then be
calibrated to map the local temperatures in specific
areas of tissue during medical procedures.
The estimated accuracy of temperature determination deep in the phantom using
MR image intensity is ±1.8oC, at 37oC.