A method of MRI-based thermal modelling for a RF phased array

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is an attractive method of temperature mon itoring in vivo due to its non-invasive nature. The natural extension of th is temperature monitoring is to implement temperature control. This work ou tlines a method of MRI-based thermal modelling for multi-source phased arra y heating systems that can potentially be employed, in the future, for real time temperature prediction and control. This method is based on Pennes bi oheat equation. It employs the superposition of an empirically acquired bas is set of temperature distributions that define the heating system's temper ature response. MR thermal images based on the proton resonance frequency s hift (PRFS) technique are used to acquire this basis set. The feasibility o f this approach is tested in phantom using a radiofrequency (RF) heating sy stem. The results show that this method can accurately reproduce measured t emperature distributions outside of the basis set.