An Extended Reality Interface for Interventional MRI

Motivation: Image guidance during Interventional MRI is limited to a remote screen with no in-room scan-plane control options. Goal(s): Our goal was to create an extended reality (XR) tool to simplify MRI-guided interventions, by providing in-room control and additional real-time and 3D holographic visualization options. Approach: We created an XR tool for an HMD, relaying scanner images via TCP/IP and øMQ protocols, with gesture commands sent through an SQL database and conducted phantom studies. Results: The HMD was MR-compatible up to 40 mT, with no SNR degradation, an imaging latency of 1380 ± 180 ms and command latency of 508 ± 194 ms. Impact: Our Extended Reality tool may improve MRI-guided interventions by allowing for in-room scan-plane control during real-time imaging and advanced image and tracking display capabilities; this could increase accuracy, streamline the workflow and help leverage the full potential of interventional MRI.