Automatic temperature control for MR-guided interstitial ultrasound ablation in liver using a percutaneous applicator: ex vivo and in vivo initial studies.

Image-guided thermal ablation offers minimally invasive options for treating hepatocellular carcinoma and colorectal metastases in liver. Here, the feasibility and the potential benefit of active temperature control for MR-guided percutaneous ultrasound ablation was investigated in pig liver. An MR-compatible interstitial ultrasound applicator (flat transducer), a positioning system with rotation-translation guiding frame, and an orbital ring holder were developed. Step-by-step rotated elementary lesions were produced, each being formed by directive heating of a flame-shaped volume of tissue. In vivo feasibility of automatic temperature control was investigated on two pigs. Proton Resonance Frequency Shift (PRFS)-based MR thermometry was performed on a 1.5-T clinical scanner, using SENSE acceleration and respiratory gating. MR follow-up of animals and macroscopic analysis were performed at 3 and, respectively, 4 days postprocedure. No sonication-related radiofrequency artifacts were detected on MR images. The temperature controller converged to the target elevation within +/-2 degrees C unless the requested power level exceeded the authorized limit. Large variability of the controller's applied powers from one sonication to another was found both ex vivo and in vivo, indicating highly anisotropic acoustic coupling and/or tissue response to identical beam pattern along different radial directions. The automatic control of the temperature enabled reproducible shape of lesions (15 +/- 2 mm radial depth).