Emerging interventional MR applications

The desire to help patients without doing harm has driven medicine to develop minimally invasive methods for diagnosing and treating disease. It is not surprising, then, that over the past three decades medicine has evolved an increasing emphasis on image-guided intervention. Traditionally, these interventions have been performed using fluoroscopy, ultrasound, and computed tomography. Most recently, however, radiologists interventional skills and trends toward minimally invasive surgery have converged to create a burgeoning interest in the use of magnetic resonance imaging for guidance in interventional procedures, including the delivery of cellular therapeutics (Bulte, AJR Am J Roentgenol 193: 314-325, 2009).