Sara Maria Sprinkhuizen1, Maurits K. Konings2, Chris J. Bakker1, Lambertus Wilhelmus Bartels1
1Image Sciences Institute, University Medical Center, Utrecht, Netherlands; 2Dept of Medical Technology, University Medical Center, Utrecht, Netherlands
Reliable thermometry is a prerequisite during thermal therapy. The most widely used MR thermometry (MRT) technique is proton resonance frequency shift (PRFS) based MRT. In current practice, the only temperature dependent parameter which is exploited is the proton electron screening constant of water. The temperature dependence of the susceptibility is ignored. In this work, the impact of temperature induced susceptibility changes in fat on PRFS based MRT in the breast is quantified. Simulations are performed to calculate changes in the field distribution. Results show that the impact of these changes on PRFS based MR temperature maps is significant.