Ozgur Kocaturk1, Christina E. Saikus2, Anthony Z. Faranesh2, Michael A. Guttman2, Kanishka Ratnayaka2, Robert J. Lederman2
1Translational Medicine Branch, Division of Intramural Research, National Heart Lung Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda, MD, USA; 2Translational Medicine Branch, Division of Intramural Research, National Heart Lung Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
The success and safety of interventional magnetic resonance imaging (iMRI) procedures require conspicuous intravascular instruments that can be distinguished from surrounding tissues. We have developed an active two channel guidewire that incorporates individual channels to provide superior distal tip and whole shaft visibility simultaneously under real time iMRI. The guidewire visibility and handling were evaluated during in vitro phantom imaging and in vivo real-time MRI-guided vascular access experiments in swine. Also mechanical properties (torquability, tip flexibility, pushability) of the guidewire prototype were compared in several bench-top evaluations with representative 0.035 commercially-available guidewires.