Magnetic Resonance Guided Therapy of Cardiac Arrhythmia (MaRGiTA)

This aim of this project is to develop novel devices and imaging technology for minimally invasive treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, a major healthcare problem affecting 5.3% of the UK population. Currently, diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmia is performed under X-ray guidance, which offers no 3D information and no soft tissue contrast as well as a procedure time of several hours, resulting in significant radiation exposure to patient and medical staff. MR-guided EP-procedures avoid radiation exposure completely and have a high potential to improve the accuracy of the EP-procedure. The key is to provide the cardiologist with images showing the myocardial tissue with superior soft tissue contrast and the position and shape of the catheter devices. For this, the positions of the electrodes and the shape of the catheter are displayed with respect to three-dimensional cardiac anatomy. However, the cardiac anatomy is dynamically changing due to cardiac and respiratory motion. Therefore, the motion must be measured and this information used to deform the pre-acquired MR-data and to display the catheter at the correct position. Furthermore, non-invasive MR-techniques were developed to quantify the size and shape of the ablation lesion. Finally, the clinical feasibility of new technology will be tested allowing further clinical trials for commercialization. The project requires a strong collaboration between industry, academia and clinical end users. This unique interdisciplinary set-up allows faster development of novel technology with a strong focus on clinical translation.