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Abstract #3581

MRI Compatible Treadmill

Eric L. Foster1, Mihaela Jekic1,2, Jacob A. Bender1,2, John W. Arnold3, Subha V. Raman1,4, Orlando P. Simonetti1,5

1Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States; 2Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University; 3Agricultural Technical Institute, The Ohio State University; 4Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University; 5Internal Medicine and Radiology, The Ohio State University


Treadmill exercise testing in conjunction with MRI may offer improved diagnosis of heart disease compared to current modalities; however, traditional treadmills can not operate safely within the MR environment. An MR compatible treadmill was developed using hydraulic drive and elevation systems and fiber-optic data transmission, allowing the treadmill to be positioned immediately adjacent to the MR examination table. The treadmill successfully passed MR safety and compatibility tests. Six healthy volunteers were exercised to peak cardiovascular stress and transferred to the MR table. Real time cine imaging was completed within 386.4 s, meeting the AHA guideline of imaging within 60 s.