Fast continuous 3D catheter balloon tracking for MRI-guided cardiac catheterization using 1D slice projection imaging with GRE stack of slices.

An automated catheter tracking approach was developed for real-time continuous catheter visualization during MR-guided cardiac catheterization. 1D projection images are acquired for each slice of a stack providing fast 3D volume screening. These images are first collected in the absence of catheter to create an atlas on background signal across the breathing cycle. During catheter navigation, incoming images are matched to the best images of the atlas, which are then subtracted to suppress background signal. Finally, automated peak detection is applied to extract the catheter balloon location. The technique is successfully demonstrated during in-vitro and in one patient.