In urgent emergencies of the brain (stenosis, vascular deficiencies, aneurysms, etc.), 2D-DSA is the clinical standard. Unfortunately, this is only a qualitative method. The actual amount of blood flow and oxygen supply cannot be determined. To analyze the dynamics of the contrast bolus and embed in the 3D vessel topology, magnetic particle imaging (MPI) is used in this project. A novel MPI system is built making it possible to track the bolus of contrast agent in real time. This is based on a field-free line (FFL). The MPI image does not include any native tissue and requires a registration with the static 3D rotational angiography.

In this project most of the engineering is done in our lab. We build customized coils for the scanner, specialized filter hardware, shielding techniques and phantoms. Our aim is a real time MPI scanner featuring the field-free line technology.

• Federal Ministry of Education and Research under grant number BMBF 13EZ1140A

• Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Henrik Botterweck (Institut für Medizinische Bildgebung, Fachochschule Lübeck)
• Prof. Dr. med Dirk Petersen (Institut für Neuroradiologie, Universität zu Lübeck)
• Dr.-Ing. Markus Kowarschik (Siemens Healthcare, Imaging & IT Division)