Shigehiro Morikawa1, Hasnine Akter Haque2, Shigeyuki Naka3, Koichiro Murakami3, Yoshimasa Kurumi3, Tohru Tani3, Toshiro Inubushi1
1Biomedical MR Science Center, Shiga University of Medical Science, Ohtsu, Shiga, Japan; 2GE Yokogawa Medical System, Hino, Tokyo, Japan; 3Department of Surgery, Shiga University of Medical Science, Ohtsu, Shiga, Japan
In MR guided interventional procedures, an optical or electromagnetic tracking system has been used for image plane control. The optical tracking system precisely works in the strong magnetic fields, but line of sight must be maintained. An electromagnetic tracking system, which utilizes gradient pulses during data collection, can be used in any directions and even in covered area, but it requires continuous MR image acquisitions and its accuracy depends on the location. To take advantages of two sensor systems complementarily, we have developed a hybrid tracking system of them and enabled seamless navigation in MR guided interventional procedures.