Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Magnetic Particles for Targeted Drug Delivery

Recently there have been initial investigations towards magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guided actuation and control of untethered devices inside the human cardiovascular system. This form of therapy has the potential to revolutionize today’s treatment of cancer and other diseases by providing an accuracy of targeted drug application far beyond conventional approaches. Additionally it is based on standard MRI hardware and does not require any special or tailored hardware. In this article, we present recent work that is focused on visual feedback for the position control of untethered magnetic devices in the MRI. For reliable recognition and tracking, a thorough understanding of the impact of magnetic material on the process of MRI image acquisition is required. A simulation of the image formation process has been implemented. Additionally, initial experimental results of MRI artifact imaging are presented.