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Navigation of Microrobots by MRI: Impact of Gravitational, Friction and Thrust Forces on Steering Success

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Abstract

Introduction

Magnetic resonance navigation (MRN) uses MRI gradients to steer magnetic drug-eluting beads (MDEBs) across vascular bifurcations. We aim to experimentally verify our theoretical forces balance model (gravitational, thrust, friction, buoyant and gradient steering forces) to improve the MRN targeted success rate.

Method

A single-bifurcation phantom (3 mm inner diameter) made of poly-vinyl alcohol was connected to a cardiac pump at 0.8 mL/s, 60 beats/minutes with a glycerol solution to reproduce the viscosity of blood. MDEB aggregates (25 ± 6 particles, 200 \(\mu {\text{m}}\)) were released into the main branch through a 5F catheter. The phantom was tilted horizontally from − 10° to +25° to evaluate the MRN performance.

Results

The gravitational force was equivalent to 71.85 mT/m in a 3T MRI. The gradient duration and amplitude had a power relationship (amplitude=78.717 \({(duration)}^{-0.525}\)). It was possible, in 15° elevated vascular branches, to steer 87% of injected aggregates if two MRI gradients are simultaneously activated (\({G}_{x}\) = +26.5 mT/m, \({G}_{y}\)= +18 mT/m for 57% duty cycle), the flow velocity was minimized to 8 cm/s and a residual pulsatile flow to minimize the force of friction.

Conclusion

Our experimental model can determine the maximum elevation angle MRN can perform in a single-bifurcation phantom simulating in vivo conditions.

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Data and Materials Availability

All data needed to evaluate the conclusions in the paper are present in the paper or the Supplementary Materials.

Abbreviations

\(\overrightarrow{B0}\) :

Main MRI magnetic field strength

EPI:

Echo planar readout

MDEBs:

Magnetic drug-eluting beads

MRN:

Magnetic resonance navigation

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

PLGA:

Poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid

PVA:

Poly-vinyl alcohol

T2:

Relaxation time of the transverse magnetization

TE:

Echo time

TR:

Repetition time

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Operating Grant - CHRP (CIHR Partnered) (CHRP 478474-15), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Operating Grant - CHRP (NSERC Partnered) (CPG-140179), Fonds de recherche du Québec en Santé (FRQS) and Fondation de l'association des radiologistes du Québec (FARQ) Clinical Research Scholarship (34939), Transmedtech and Siemens Healthineers. We also acknowledge support by the Lundbeck Foundation of Denmark (UBC-SUND Lundbeck Foundation Professorship to UOH, No. 2014-4176).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Cyril Tous and Ning Li are co-first authors and they have contributed equally to this study article.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l, Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), 900 Rue Saint-Denis, Montreal, QC, H2X 0A9, Canada

    Cyril Tous, Ning Li, Ivan P. Dimov, An Tang & Gilles Soulez

  2. Université de Montréal, 2900 Boulevard Édouard-Montpetit, Montreal, QC, H3T 1J4, Canada

    Cyril Tous, Ning Li, An Tang, Simon Lessard & Gilles Soulez

  3. École de Technologie Supérieur, 1100 Rue Notre-Dame O, Montreal, QC, H3C 1K3, Canada

    Simon Lessard

  4. Polytechnique Montréal, 2500 Chemin de Polytechnique, 28, Montreal, QC, H3T 1J4, Canada

    Samuel Kadoury & Sylvain Martel

  5. University of British Columbia, 2405 Westbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada

    Urs O. Häfeli, Zeynab Nosrati & Katayoun Saatchi

  6. Siemens Healthineers, Erlangen, Canada

    Gerald Moran & Marcus J. Couch

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  1. Cyril Tous
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Contributions

GS and SL supervised the studies. CT and NL implemented the methods and analysis. All authors edited the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gilles Soulez.

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Conflict of interest

C.T is currently supported by Transmedtech and Siemens Healthineers, Canada. G.M and M.J.C work at Siemens Healthineers. The other authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.

Additional information

Associate Editor Stefan M Duma oversaw the review of this article.

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Tous, C., Li, N., Dimov, I.P. et al. Navigation of Microrobots by MRI: Impact of Gravitational, Friction and Thrust Forces on Steering Success. Ann Biomed Eng 49, 3724–3736 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-021-02865-1

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