MRI-Guided Monitoring of Cement Injection in Vertebral Bodies

Ren Schilling¹, Hermann Josef Bail², Florian Wichlas², Christian Jrgen Seebauer², Jens Rump¹, Ulf Teichgrber¹

At last years ISMRM meeting, we presented modified PMMA bone cement for interventional use in open MRI systems. In this study, we evaluated various techniques for the safe application of cement in vertebral bodies under MRImonitoring, using a phantom with artificial leakage ducts. Although monitoring a volume with near real-time MRI is still challenging, the experimental results suggest that a fast T1FSE (1 image/ 2.4s) and a radial-shift technique provide sufficient detection of leakage ducts up to 3mm in diameter. The experimental filling time (85s) was markedly shorter, than the cement injection time recommended by the manufacturer.