Samuel O. Oduneye1, Sudip Ghate2,
Kevan JT Anderson1, Graham A. Wright1
1Medical Biophysics, Sunnybrook Health
Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; 2Sunnybrook
Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
During
an MRI examination induced radio frequency (RF) currents on electric
conductors, such as electrode lines within catheters, may cause heating in
surrounding regions .The objective of this study was to investigate the
effects of RF induced heating as a result of changing boundary conditions at
the point of connection of a catheter to the MR-guided clinical system. In
our setup, the termination represents a sudden change of impedance, an
additional reflection point, where heating occurs; both simulation and experimental
results show that this point alters significantly the current along the wire,
the overall reflection coefficient and heating properties.