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Abstract:
Objective
Atherosclerosis is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity. Optical endoscopy, ultrasound, and X-ray offer minimally
invasive imaging assessments but have limited sensitivity for characterizing disease and therapeutic response. Magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI) endoscopy is a newer idea employing tiny catheter-mounted detectors connected to the MRI scanner. It can see
through vessel walls and provide soft-tissue sensitivity, but its slow imaging speed limits practical applications. Our goal is high-
resolution MRI endoscopy with real-time imaging speeds comparable to existing modalities. Methods. Intravascular (3 mm)
transmit-receive MRI endoscopes were fabricated for highly undersampled radial-projection MRI in a clinical 3-tesla MRI
scanner. Iterative nonlinear reconstruction was accelerated using graphics processor units connected via a single ethernet cable
to achieve true real-time endoscopy visualization at the scanner. MRI endoscopy was performed at 6-10 frames/sec and 200-
300 μm resolution in human arterial specimens and porcine vessels ex vivo and in vivo and compared with fully sampled 0.3
frames/sec and three-dimensional reference scans using mutual information (MI) and structural similarity (3-SSIM) indices.
Results. High-speed MRI endoscopy at 6-10 frames/sec was consistent with fully sampled MRI endoscopy and histology, with
feasibility demonstrated in vivo in a large animal model. A 20-30-fold speed-up vs. 0.3 frames/sec reference scans came at a cost
of ~7% in MI and ~45% in 3-SSIM, with reduced motion sensitivity. Conclusion. High-resolution MRI endoscopy can now be
performed at frame rates comparable to those of X-ray and optical endoscopy and could provide an alternative to existing
modalities, with MRI’s advantages of soft-tissue sensitivity and lack of ionizing radiation.
