Temperature mapping with MR imaging of molecular diffusion: application to hyperthermia.

Efficacy and safety considerations for hyperthermia (HT) cancer therapy require accurate temperature measurements throughout the heated volume. Noninvasive thermometry methods have been proposed, including magnetic resonance (MR) imaging based on the temperature dependence of the relaxation time T1. However, the temperature accuracy achieved to date with T1 measurements does not fulfill the HT requirements (1 degree C/cm). The authors propose to use molecular diffusion, for which temperature dependence is well known. Molecular diffusion is more sensitive than T1 and can be determined with high accuracy with MR imaging. Diffusion and derived temperature images were obtained with a 2 X 2-mm pixel size in a polyacrylamide gel phantom heated inside the head coil of a clinical 0.5-T whole-body MR imaging system by means of a modified clinical HT device made compatible with the system. Temperatures determined from these images with 0.8-cm2 regions of interest were found to be within 0.5 degrees C of those recorded with thermocouples placed inside the gel. The utility of this method in clinical hyperthermia is enhanced by its potential to also help monitor blood perfusion.