Tabletop MRI system development for intraoperative biopsy analysis

A histological intraoperative analysis of tissue specimen is usually required for evaluation of sentinel lymph node (SLN) and determination of margins of surgical resection. Currently, this analysis is performed by Touch Imprint Cytology (TIC), Frozen Section (FS) analysis, scrape cytology or a combination of these methods. We propose an alternative approach based on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). In particular, in this contribution we present the development, components, characterization as well as the first images obtained with our tabletop and transportable MRI system. Experiments with our MRI system shown that we can get images with high image spatial resolution (about 100 urn) and good signal-to-noise ratio in only few seconds using fast pulse sequences (fast and spin gradient echo).