Abstract #2571

Visualization and Tracking of a Conventional Guidewire with Low Flip Angle SSFP Imaging: An Initial Study

Rohan Dharmakumar¹, Ioannis Koktzoglou², Sotirios A. Tsaftaris³, Sven Zuehlsdorff⁴, Richard A. Tang¹, Graham A. Wright⁵, Debiao Li¹

¹Radiology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA; ²Radiology, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL, USA; ³Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; ⁴Siemens Healthcare, Chicago, IL, USA; ⁵Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Inductive coupling between signal reception coils and conventional guidewires in the presence of low flip-angle (LF) balanced SSFP (b-SSFP) imaging may permit the visualization of guidewires with positive contrast. To test our hypothesis, ex-vivo and in-vivo experiments were performed using a radio-opaque coronary guidewire and LF b-SSFP imaging. Our initial studies showed that it is possible to visualize and track a conventional guidewire with positive contrast using LF b-SSFP imaging within ex-vivo and in-vivo settings. These results lend support to the hypothesis that signal reception coils and passive guidewires may be inductively coupled in the presence of LF excitations.