Improving Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Patients with Deep Brain Stimulation Devices

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a safe way to non-invasively probe the body, particularly for imaging soft tissues. In Canada, MRI use is growing, but there’s a concern with people who have medical devices inside them, as the strong magnets used in MRI could cause problems for these devices. Doctors are interested in using MRI to help guide treatment of certain patient populations using Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) devices, however these are the devices for which strong MRI magnets can be a concern. Currently, doctors use standard MRI machines but limit the capabilities of the MRI to ensure safety. However, with the development of state of the art lower field MRI scanners, there is potential to maintain safety due to a weaker magnet while attaining clearer images. This project aims to validate the safety of these lower field MRI systems for patients with DBS devices and implementing approaches which could improve the images acquired by these systems. This will benefit UHN Toronto General Hospital, as clinicians there have an immediate need and desire to image people with these devices.

Faculty Supervisor:

Kamil Uludag

Student:

Partner:

University Health Network

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Health and Related Sciences & Technology

University:

University of Toronto

Program: