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Autoperfused balloon catheter for intravascular MR imaging

An intravascular magnetic resonance (MR) imaging catheter for high‐resolution imaging of vessel walls was developed. The catheter design is based on an autoperfusion balloon catheter that allows passive perfusion of blood during balloon inflation. The blood enters a central lumen through multiple sideholes of the catheter shaft proximal to the balloon. A remotely tuned, matched, and actively decoupled, expandable single‐loop radiofrequency coil was mounted onto the balloon to receive intravascular MR signals. The autoperfusion rate through the catheter was determined experimentally relative to perfusion pressure. The catheter concept was evaluated in vitro on human femoral artery specimens and in vivo in the internal carotid artery of two pigs. The proposed catheter design allowed for maintained blood perfusion during the acquisition of high‐resolution intravascular images. During perfusion, image quality remained unaffected by flow, motion, and pulsatility artifacts. The availability of an autoperfused intravascular catheter design can be considered an important step toward high‐resolution atherosclerotic plaque imaging in critical vessels such as the carotid and coronary arteries. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 1999; 9:428–434. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.