Voltage‐based device tracking in a 1.5 tesla MRI during imaging: initial validation in swine models

Voltage‐based device‐tracking (VDT) systems are commonly used for tracking invasive devices in electrophysiological cardiac‐arrhythmia therapy. During electrophysiological procedures, electro‐anatomic mapping workstations provide guidance by integrating VDT location and intracardiac electrocardiogram information with X‐ray, computerized tomography, ultrasound, and MR images. MR assists navigation, mapping, and radiofrequency ablation. Multimodality interventions require multiple patient transfers between an MRI and the X‐ray/ultrasound electrophysiological suite, increasing the likelihood of patient‐motion and image misregistration. An MRI‐compatible VDT system may increase efficiency, as there is currently no single method to track devices both inside and outside the MRI scanner.