Nitinol in magnetic resonance imaging.

Surgical and interventional instruments as well as implants can cause significant magnetic resonance image (MRI) artifacts. The artifacts can be used to visualize instruments, cannulae, guide wires, catheters during interventional MRI and Nitinol devices have proven to be useful for MRI procedures. Diagnostic imaging is often compromised in the area of an implant. Complete vanishing of signals occurs in close proximity or inside implants. The paper presents a fundamental evaluation of MRI artifact of Nitinol devices such as Stents, Vena Cava Filter, heart defect closure devices, cannulae, guide wire, localizer, anastomosis device, etc. in a 1.0 Tesla magnetic field. The American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) recommendations for selection of sequences and test setup were used but the results of this paper are not sufficient for FDA approval.