Ferromagnetic particles as magnetic resonance imaging temperature sensors

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 7; no. 1; p. 12415
• Main Authors: Hankiewicz, J. H., Celinski, Z., Stupic, K. F., Anderson, N. R., Camley, R. E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 09-08-2016; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 140/131; 631/57; 639/925; Ablation; Composite materials; Electron microscopes; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hyperthermia; Magnetic resonance imaging; multidisciplinary; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Temperature; Transplants & implants; Tumors; United States > US; Colorado
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12415

Magnetic resonance imaging is an important technique for identifying different types of tissues in a body or spatial information about composite materials. Because temperature is a fundamental parameter reflecting the biological status of the body and individual tissues, it would be helpful to have temperature maps superimposed on spatial maps. Here we show that small ferromagnetic particles with a strong temperature-dependent magnetization, can be used to produce temperature-dependent images in magnetic resonance imaging with an accuracy of about 1 °C. This technique, when further developed, could be used to identify inflammation or tumours, or to obtain spatial maps of temperature in various medical interventional procedures such as hyperthermia and thermal ablation. This method could also be used to determine temperature profiles inside nonmetallic composite materials.
Magnetic resonance imaging can distinguish between different tissue types by measuring the proton distribution in a living sample. Here, the authors demonstrate how this technique can be extended to provide temperature information by using ferromagnetic particles with temperature-dependent magnetization.