Fiber composite invasive medical instruments and methods for use in

Abstract

A medical interventional instrument for use in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or other imaging system, a method for designing such an instrument, and a method including the steps of positioning an instrument having a body with a contrast region (constructed in accordance with the invention) and a target in the imaging region of an imaging system and operating the imaging system to produce an image showing both the target and the contrast agent. The instrument has a carbon-fiber or glass-fiber composite (or zirconia) body which preferably carries a contrast agent which is appropriate to the particular imaging modality to be used with the instrument. The concentration and volume of the contrast agent are determined (preferably experimentally) to cause the instrument to be positively shown in an image produced by the imaging system, without obscuring or distorting unacceptably the image of the target (e.g., a typical target, such as human tissue) with which the contrast agent is to be imaged. In some preferred embodiments, the contrast agent is a paramagnetic metal ion. In other preferred embodiments, the contrast agent is an iodinated hydrocarbon. In further preferred embodiments, the contrast agent is a preparation containing microbubbles of air or other gas, or the contrast region includes an air-filled void.