­­Active Electromagne­­­­tic Interference Suppression for Real-Time MR Thermometry During MR-Guided Microwave Ablation

Motivation: Electromagnetic interference (EMI) from the microwave system may severely disrupt MR thermometry during microwave ablation (MWA). While hardware modification to the MWA system has been proposed, it may compromise MWA effectiveness or complicate workflow. Goal(s): Develop a software-based EMI suppression technique for real-time MR thermometry during MWA. Approach: We designed a domain transfer function-based technique to directly estimate and remove EMI signals from acquired data. We tested its effectiveness in phantom experiments. Results: The proposed technique demonstrated up to 90% EMI suppression rate. Compared to temperature probes, real-time MR thermometry achieved mean-absolute-error of 1.30°C in the ablation zone during MWA. Impact: The software-based active EMI suppression technique enables reliable real-time MR temperature monitoring during continuous microwave ablation without additional hardware modifications. This technique has potential for clinical deployment to enhance patient safety and improve treatment outcomes.