Treatment Monitoring of Irreversible Electroporation in a Potato Model with a two-shot CP/CPMG-RARE Sequence and Spiral Sampling

Motivation: Treatment monitoring of irreversible electroporation (IRE) is only feasible on small animal MRI systems. Goal(s): Demonstrate Current Density Imaging capabilities of the two-shot CP/CPMG-RARE with spiral sampling by monitoring IRE of a potato in a clinical MR scanner. Approach: A potato is irreversibly electroporated, while the two-shot CP/CPMG-RARE sequence is acquiring. The electric field is simulated, and the current density is projected using the MRCI toolbox. T1 maps are calculated from inversion recovery sequences. Results: Simulated and projected current density fields are in good agreement. IRE monitoring in single slices is feasible in clinical MR scanners in optimal conditions. Impact: Irreversible Electroporation is a promising non-thermal ablation therapy without in-situ validation available. This work presents a step towards implementing treatment monitoring on clinical MR scanners utilizing a two-shot CP/CPMG-RARE with spiral sampling as Current Density Imaging sequence.