Estimation of Temperature Change in the Human Brain During Magnetic Resonance Imaging Procedure

Abstract

The study measured brain (head) temperature variation of patients during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations. The challenges of measuring temperature increase in-vivo during MRI have led to an increase in the use of numerical methods to precisely predict and quantify the temperature increase and distribution in the human brain during a normal MRI scan. To this end, an explicit formula in the finite difference time domain has been applied to solve Penne’s bioheat equation with the help of the matrix laboratory (MATLAB) programming language. Three-dimensional temperature distribution in patients during MRI was estimated. The study was carried out at the 37 Military Hospital and the Diagnostic Center Limited, Ghana. Fifty (50) adult patients’ forehead temperatures were measured with an infra-red thermometer before and after the MRI. The ages of the patients ranged from 32 to 68 years, with a body mass index ranging between 22.16 and 44.16 kgm-2. The lowest temperature during the MRI from the simulated results was 37.5 o C and the highest temperature was 42.5 o C. The results during MRI scan depicted brain hyperthermia, predicting that the radiofrequency of electromagnetic radiation during MRI leads to tissue heating resulting temperature being highest on the skin, low in the skull, and higher again in the brain. The highest stimulated brain temperature during the brain MRI study depicts brain hyperthermia, and this effect may be caused by the MRI components and the pathological condition of the patient. The experimental results validated the theoretical results by showing that there is a temperature increase after patients’ brain MRI scans. However, the intermittently measured pre-and post-scan temperatures were all within guidance level of 1 °C recommended by the United States Food and Administration and the International Electrotechnical Commission