Frank K. Wacker

Real-Time Catheter Tracking and Adaptive Imaging

To evaluate the performance of a real‐time MR system for interventional procedures that adjusts specific image parameters in real time based on a catheters speed of insertion.

Characterization of internal organ motion using skin marker positions

Internal organ motion due to breathing is a phenomenon that nullifies the rigidity assumptions in many interventional applications, ranging from image guided needle biopsies to external beam radiation therapy. In this paper, we propose a method to correlate and characterize internal organ motion with the location of skin markers. The method utilizes a MR time sequence along with tracked magnetic marker positions to establish the correlation. We perform a validation study to quantify the degree of the accuracy and the reproducibility of this correlation. The results demonstrate that patient specific correlation of internal motion and skin markers can be established and the target positioning accuracy of better than 15% of the maximum range of the target movement can be achieved.

An Augmented Reality system for MRI-guided needle biopsies.

A navigation system can increase the speed and accuracy of MR guided interventions that make use of scanners with high-field closed magnets. We report on first needle placement experiments performed with an Augmented Reality (AR) navigation system. AR visualization provides very intuitive guidance, resulting in a faster procedure. The accuracy of the needle placement depends on the registration accuracy of the system. In the present trials, the needle was placed as good as 1mm close to the target center, however in a small number of cases substantially larger errors occurred and were most likely caused by needle bending.

Augmented reality system for MR-guided interventions: phantom studies and first animal test

We developed an augmented reality navigation system for MR-guided interventions. A head-mounted display provides in real-time a stereoscopic video-view of the patient, which is augmented with three-dimensional medical information to perform MR-guided needle placement procedures. Besides with the MR image information, we augment the scene with 3D graphics representing a forward extension of the needle and the needle itself. During insertion, the needle can be observed virtually at its actual location in real-time, supporting the interventional procedure in an efficient and intuitive way. In this paper we report on quantitative results of AR guided needle placement procedures on gel phantoms with embedded targets of 12mm and 6mm diameter; we furthermore evaluate our first animal experiment involving needle insertion into deep lying anatomical structures of a pig.

Magnetic resonance imaging-guided renal artery stent placement in a swine model: Comparison of two tracking techniques

Background: Magnetic resonance (MR)-guided interventions have evolved from a pure research application to a preclinical method over the last decade. Among the device-tracking techniques, susceptibility artifact-based tracking relies on the contrast between the surrounding blood and the device, and radiofrequency coil-based tracking relies on the local gradient field amplification in a resonating circuit attached to the interventional device. Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility and precision of susceptibility artifact-based and microcoil-based MR guidance methods for renal artery stent placement in a swine model. Material and Methods: MR imaging-guided renal artery stent placements were performed in six fully anesthetized pigs using a 1.5T short-bore MR scanner. Susceptibility artifact-based tracking with manual scan-plane adjustments and microcoil tracking with automatic scan-plane adjustments were used for renal artery stent placements in three pigs in each group. With both methods, near real-time steady-state free-precession (SSFP) imaging was used. Differences between the two tracking approaches on stenting time, total procedure time, and stent position were measured. Results: The microcoil-based approach yielded a shorter mean procedure time (17 vs. 23 min). There was no relevant difference for the mean stenting time (12 vs. 13 min). The mean stent deviation from the aortic wall with the susceptibility approach was larger than with the microcoil approach (10 vs. 4.0 mm). Conclusion: For MRI-guided renal artery stent placement, the microcoil-based technique had a shorter procedure time and a higher stent placement precision than the susceptibility artifact-based approach.