WO2023146474A2

WO2023146474A2 - A method of imaging an inanimate structural implant in a tissue

Info

Publication number: WO2023146474A2
Application number: PCT/SG2023/050047
Authority: WO
Inventors: Zhi Wei Tay; Viveka KALIDASAN; Malini Olivo
Original assignee: Agency For Science, Technology And Research
Priority date: 2022-01-27
Filing date: 2023-01-26
Publication date: 2023-08-03
Also published as: WO2023146474A3

Abstract

Described herein is a method of imaging an inanimate structural implant in a tissue. The method includes positioning a magnetic particle imaging device proximal to the inanimate structural implant in the tissue, the inanimate structural implant coupled to at least one magnetic particle; exciting the at least one magnetic particle with a generated magnetic field from the magnetic particle imaging device; receiving a signal from the excited at least one magnetic particle; and constructing an image of the inanimate structural implant based on the signal. A method of heating an inanimate structural implant is also described, the method includes positioning a device proximal to the inanimate structural implant in the tissue, the device configured to generate alternating magnetic fields, the inanimate structural implant coupled to at least one magnetic particle; generating alternating magnetic fields with the device; and heating the inanimate structural implant with the generated alternating magnetic fields.

Description

A METHOD OF IMAGING AN INANIMATE STRUCTURAL IMPLANT IN A TISSUE

Related Applications

[0001] The present application claims priority to and the benefit of Singapore Patent Application 10202200832Q, filed 27 January 2022, titled “Non-invasive, low-cost imaging of implant or internal suture integrity with handheld MPI system” which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

[0002] Various embodiments relate to an application of the handheld magnetic particle imaging (MPI) system, and more particularly, a method for assessing the integrity of objects in opaque tissues with the MPI system.

Background

[0003] The monitoring of the integrity of an internal suture is a compelling clinical need as a high frequency of wound dehiscence or suture rupturing happens in the wound healing process. There is an estimated 32% mortality rate because of suture rupture and subsequent sepsis. Currently, no imaging method can provide a non-invasive, low-cost, and non-radioactive approach for monitoring the integrity of the suture in a wound. It has been shown that an ultrasound cannot image thin sutures in tissues. A computed tomography (CT) scan is typically only performed when the suture rupturing has reached a severe stage leading to infection or internal bleeding since a CT scan is expensive to use for monitoring the integrity of the suture frequently. Moreover, radiation dose is a concern and it is also time-consuming to perform due to the long preparation time and it is not feasible to be used to regularly monitor patients.

[0004] Similarly, for surgical implants, there is currently no cost-effective and bedside-operable method available for monitoring implant integrity frequently. Due to the high cost of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, it is normally only used when there is a strong indication of implant failure. [0005] There is an estimated 14 million colorectal surgeries and 220 million gastrointestinal surgeries performed globally per year. Thus, a small fraction of surgeries with post-surgical complications have signficant impacts on the healthcare costs and mortality rate.

Summary of Invention

[0006] In a first aspect, there is provided a method of imaging an inanimate structural implant in a tissue. The method may include positioning a magnetic particle imaging device proximal to the inanimate structural implant in the tissue, the inanimate structural implant is coupled to at least one magnetic particle; exciting the at least one magnetic particle with a generated magnetic field from the magnetic particle imaging device; receiving a signal from the excited at least one magnetic particle; and constructing an image of the inanimate structural implant based on the signal.

[0007] Preferably, exciting the at least one magnetic particle with the generated magnetic field comprises exciting the at least one magnetic particle selectively in a spatial manner. More preferably, exciting the at least one magnetic particle selectively in a spatial manner comprises generating a pulsed excitation magnetic field and generating a patterned magnetic field, wherein interaction of the pulsed excitation magnetic field and the patterned magnetic field provides selective excitation of the at least one magnetic particle in the spatial manner.

[0008] Preferably, the method further comprises recording a position and direction of the generated magnetic field.

[0009] Preferably, the signal from the excited at least one magnetic particle is received by a single-sided three axis detection array configured to utilize a directionality of the received signal to aid in constructing the image of the inanimate structural implant.

[0010] Preferably, wherein the inanimate structural implant is a suture or a catheter.

[0011] Preferably, the at least one magnetic particle is biocompatible. In an embodiment, the at least one magnetic particle comprises iron oxide.

[0012] Preferably, the at least one magnetic particle is in a form of a nanoparticle, microparticle, thin film, powder, or paint coat.

[0013] Preferably, the at least one magnetic particle is coated on an exterior of the inanimate structural implant. [0014] Preferably, data on a quantity and/or a spread of the at least one magnetic particle coupled to the inanimate structural implant is used to aid constructing the image of the inanimate structural implant.

[0015] Preferably, a plurality of nodes on the inanimate structural implant is defined, wherein exciting the at least one magnetic particle with a generated magnetic field and receiving a signal from the excited at least one magnetic particle is performed at a high trajectory density. More preferably, each of the plurality of nodes corresponds to a common inanimate structural implant failure spot or failure mode. Advantageously, high-trajectory density in the scan specifications improves the spatial resolution and allows for the inanimate structural implant to be imaged more clearly to identify breaks in the inanimate structural implant.

[0016] Preferably, the plurality of nodes is interspersed at an interval larger than a blurring spot size of a point source, wherein constructing the image of the inanimate structural implant includes improving imaging spatial resolution via a centroid-detection model. Advantageously, the inclusion of the data of the location of the magnetic particles allows for improved detection sensitivity

[0017] Preferably, the method further comprises obtaining a first image and a second image, wherein the first image and the second image are constructed at different timepoints.

[0018] Preferably, the method further comprises comparing the first image and the second image.

[0019] Preferably, the method further comprises determining integrity of the inanimate structural implant based on the comparison of the first image and the second image.

[0020] Preferably, the method further comprises predicting failure of integrity of the inanimate structural implant by a machine learning model.

[0021] Preferably, the method further comprises implanting the inanimate structural implant into the tissue.

[0022] Preferably, the method further comprises coupling the at least one magnetic particle to the inanimate structural implant.

[0023] Preferably, the inanimate structural implant is coupled to the at least one magnetic particle by any one from the group consisting of a direct covalent bond, an adhesive bond, and embedded within a carrier bonded to the inanimate structural implant. [0024] Preferably, the method further comprises heating the inanimate structural implant with a plurality of alternating magnetic fields.

[0025] Preferably, exciting the at least one magnetic particle with a generated magnetic field is done at a low frequency of the generated magnetic field and heating the inanimate structural implant with a plurality of alternating magnetic fields is done at a high frequency of the alternating magnetic fields.

[0026] In a second aspect, there is provided a method of heating an inanimate structural implant, the method comprises positioning a device proximal to the inanimate structural implant in the tissue, wherein the device is configured to generate alternating magnetic fields and the inanimate structural implant is coupled to at least one magnetic particle; generating alternating magnetic fields with the device; and heating the inanimate structural implant with the generated alternating magnetic fields.

[0027] In an embodiment, heating the inanimate structural implant disinfects a surrounding region of the inanimate structural implant. In an embodiment, heating the inanimate structural implant removes debris in a surrounding region of the inanimate structural implant. In an embodiment, heating the inanimate structural implant improves blood flow to a surrounding region of the inanimate structural implant. In an embodiment, heating the inanimate structural implant kills cancer cells in a surrounding region of the inanimate structural implant.

[0028] Preferably the inanimate structural implant is a suture and heating the inanimate structural implant triggers rapid biodegradation of the suture.

[0029] In a third aspect there is provided a portable magnetic particle imaging device comprising a handheld probe having a main casing housing a first sensor coil, a second sensor coil, a transmitter coil arranged between the first sensor coil and the second sensor coil, and an excitation priming frame housing an electromagnet which is configured to selectively switch between two or more frequencies, wherein a low frequency is used for magnetic particle imaging and a high frequency is used for heating of a site containing a magnetic particle; and a processing unit comprising a transmitter communicatively connected to the transmitter coil and the excitation priming frame, and a receiver communicatively connected to the first sensor coil and the second sensor coil.

Brief Description of Drawings [0030] In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to like parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the following description, various embodiments of the invention are described with reference to the following drawings, in which: [0031] Figure (FIG.) 1 shows a flowchart illustrating a method of imaging an inanimate structural implant in a tissue.

[0032] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of imaging a suture.

[0033] FIG. 3 shows images of an intact suture and a ruptured suture.

[0034] FIG. 4 shows a schematic of an exemplary MPI system.

[0035] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a handheld probe of an exemplary MPI probe.

[0036] FIG. 6 shows a cross section of the handheld probe in FIG. 4.

[0037] FIG. 7 shows an example arrangement of the sensor coils and the transmit coil in the handheld probe in a cross-section view.

[0038] FIG. 8 shows a plan view of the coil arrangement in FIG. 7.

Detailed Description

[0039] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings that show, by way of illustrations, specific details, and embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments may be utilized and structural, logical, and electrical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The various embodiments are not necessarily mutually exclusive, as some embodiments can be combined with one or more embodiments to form new embodiments.

[0040] Embodiments described in the context of one of the systems are analogously valid for the other systems.

[0041] Features that are described in the context of an embodiment may correspondingly apply to the same or similar features in the other embodiments, even if not explicitly described in other embodiments. Furthermore, additions and/or combinations and/or alternatives described for a feature in the context of an embodiment may correspondingly be applicable to the same or similar feature in the other embodiments. [0042] In the context of various embodiments, the articles “a”, “an”, and “the” as used with regard to a feature or element include a reference to one or more of the features or elements.

[0043] In the context of various embodiments, the expression “system” may refer to a device or multiple devices functioning together.

[0044] In the context of various embodiments, the term “magnetic particle” may refer to “magnetic nanoparticle”, “magnetic microparticle”, “magnetic thin film”, “magnetic powder”, and “magnetic paint coat”.

[0045] Various embodiments may provide a non-invasive, cost-efficient, non -radioactive, and bedside-operable method of imaging an inanimate structural implant in tissue. In particular, embodiments of the invention may provide a method of imaging an inanimate structural implant in a tissue to visualize and assess its integrity with the use of a magnetic particle imaging (MPI) system. Advantageously, the method is non-invasive as the MPI device is used outside of a patient’s body by positioning it proximal to the inanimate structural implant to scan and visualize the integrity of the implant in tissue. Existing methods of direct imaging of the inanimate structural implant, like CT and positron emission tomography (PET) require the use of radioactive labels and radiation, and may not be suitable for long-term imaging.

[0046] One example of the inanimate structural implant may be a suture or a catheter. Other examples include pacemakers and artificial joints. A catheter has very similar shape and size to a suture, and is expected to have similar imaging results. Existing methods like ultrasound cannot image a thin suture with high spatial resolution. Optical imaging cannot detect deeply into the tissue and is limited to skin applications. MRI and CT scans are both radioactive and expensive, and are not suitable for prolonged and extensive use. Advantageously, the use of the MPI system for integrity assessment of the inanimate structural implant is non-radioactive, with an order-of-magnitude better object-to-tissue-background contrast ratio, the cost for each MPI scan is greatly lower than the costs for the above options, and the portable nature of the MPI system means the structural implant may be imaged directly and frequently at the patient’s bedside. This reduces the risks involved in moving the patient to a specialised imaging room and to allow ruptured sutures to be identified early which allows for treatment to be administered promptly.

[0047] Existing MPI imaging methods have generally been used in imaging in vivo biodistribution of a foreign object (for example cells attached to magnetic particles) and image anatomical changes such as tumor appearance or narrowing in blood vessels by blood-pool imaging. However, imaging an inanimate structural implant requires different considerations and the existing MPI methods cannot be used.

[0048] For example, a sutured wound is considered a whole macrostructure, and any narrowing/fraying or breaks in the suture length would indicate progressive stages of failure of macrostructure integrity. Similarly, for other implants, the form-shape integrity of the macrostructure can indicate stages of mechanical failure. The MPI imaging required here would have to be tailored specifically for this. The strategic placement of imaging agents within the implant to assess structural integrity are considerations that were not present in existing MPI imaging methods. In an example, the imaging agent may be coated on an exterior surface of the implant (for example the suture), and preferably reasonably evenly to ensure that the signal measured is approximately proportional to the quantity of the imaging agent. Advantageously, this may provide both a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the imaged implant. Furthermore, unlike imaging in vivo biodistribution and anatomical changes, there is no need for high temporal resolution or wide field-of-view to cover biodistribution or anatomical peculiarities.

[0049] As an example when the inanimate structural implant is a suture or surgical implant, the design principle (which is in essence designing the object-to-be-imaged to improve imaging performance) may be to have regularly interspersed imaging agent spots of equal intensity at regular intervals (intervals larger than the blurring spot size of a point source) along the suture length. Because the spatial interval and intensity of each of the spots are known, the imaging spatial resolution can be improved via a centroid-detection method. Since the aim is to detect minute changes of suture length which point to high strain and micro-tears, sub-resolution changes in point-to-point distance may be detectable by this method. This is in comparison to regular MPI imaging of a suture entirely coated with imaging agent. As the imaging agents occur at intervals much closer than the blurring spot size of a point source, the imaging agent on the left and right of the micro-tear will blur into the signal from the tear location, and a centroid-detection method cannot be used.

[0050] Further, existing MPI imaging methods deal with imaging to interrogate unknowns such as spatial position (biodistribution imaging studies) or unknown patient anatomy (diseased anatomical state). However, the location of the suture or implant macrostructure is known, and the imaging of the suture or implant is to continuously verify that there is no change over time, and where applicable until wound healing is complete.

[0051] The coupling of the imaging agents to the implant/suture needs to be done strategically to optimize for structural defect detection, which is not an issue in other imaging targets. The design process would be similar to defining nodes on the implant where imaging agent (spots) are located. In an example, these nodes may be focused on common implant failure spots or failure modes to impart greatest sensitivity to detect progression-to-failure. The scan specifications may be designed to ensure high trajectory density across the nodes at high spatial resolution by trading off temporal resolution (not needed for most static implants). The scanning trajectory for the interrogation spot should be designed to ensure high-density sampling of the nodes by high density (multiple/many) measurements within a small distance range around the node location to increase the certainty of the interrogation of node location. This allows for high trajectory density of the scan specifications. This scan specification differs from regular MPI imaging where the location is completely unknown and thus instead of focusing sampling around a small area, the “net is cast wide” to sample at low amounts across a wide area/volume. [0052] Thus, the embodiments described herein have a distinctly different imaging objective from existing methods, a distinctly different strategy for putting imaging agents as well as scan specifications must be tailored to this new objective, and not requiring anatomic context compared to existing MPI imaging methods.

[0053] An example of an MPI system is described in patent application number PCT/SG2021/050424, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, and it may be a portable and handheld magnetic particle imaging (hMPI) system. The hMPI system includes a generation system for a magnetic field that may include at least one magnet, where the magnetic field within the observation region is spatially structured without a field free region (FFR) for an object under observation to ‘prime’ the magnetic nanoparticles, but where the directional excitation system can interact with the patterned magnetic field to generate spatial patterns of spatial selective excitation of magnetic nanoparticles. The object contains a magnetic nanoparticle tracer distribution detectable by the MPI system. The hMPI system also includes an electromagnet excitation system arranged proximate the observation region, where a pulse sequence generator supplies imaging pulse sequences to the electromagnet, wherein the generated excitation magnetic field interacts with the patterned magnetic field within the observation region to spatial selectively excite particles within a target line with axis directed out of the hMPI system and deep into the observation region, where the spatial drop-off in field strength and inhomogeneity of the single-sided field applicator is exploited to provide spatial encoding from the known spatial pattern of the magnetic field. The hMPI system also has a detection system arranged proximate the observation region to detect the emitted magnetic signal from the excited particles externally. The detection system can also be a single-sided three-axis detection array to utilize the directionality of the emitted magnetic signal for further spatial encoding and improved reconstruction. Acquisition of the conic field-of-view sweeps the “magnetic beam” to cover the conic volume as facilitated by the slightly convex surface of the hMPI handheld probe. The 3D position and direction of the “magnetic beam” is recorded by gyroscopic and optical translation sensors in the hMPI handheld probe, obviating the need for strong electromagnets to shift the generated magnetic field around. Image reconstruction will be performed with recorded sensor data on the gyroscopic and optical translation sensors in the hMPI handheld probe to provide the 3D position and direction vector / tilt of the “magnetic beam”. Acquired signals corresponding temporally to the instantaneous 3D position and direction of the beam will be assigned to that spatial beam position and direction. Spatial encoding within the beam itself is performed by the difference in magnetic field strength dropoff with distance for the static field and the excitation system, resulting in excitation of the nanoparticles along different sub- sections of the magnetic nanoparticle magnetization response curve (M-H) curve depending on the distance along the beam axis from the hMPI probe. For example, nanoparticles closer to the hMPI probe traverse the M-H curve away from the zerocrossing point, generating a different magnetization signature from nanoparticles farther from the hMPI probe that traverses the M-H curve around both sides of the zero-crossing point.

[0054] FIG. 4 shows a schematic of a MPI system, in particular a hMPI system, that may be used. The hMPI system 100 may include a processing unit 110, a thermal cooling unit 120, a transmitter 130, a receiver 140 and a handheld probe 150. In some embodiments, the hMPI system 100 further includes an ultrasound control and receiver 160. The hMPI system 100 is modular and can be placed on a trolley with compartments for housing the power amplifiers and signal receive circuits of the hMPI system 100.

[0055] The processing unit 110 is a typical computing system that comprises a processor, memory and instructions stored on the memory and executable by the processor. The processor may be a processor, microprocessor, microcontroller, application specific integrated circuit, digital signal processor (DSP), programmable logic circuit, or other data processing device that executes instructions to perform the processes in accordance with the present invention. The processor has the capability to execute various applications that are stored in the memory. The memory may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash cards, or any storage medium. Instructions are computing codes, software applications that are stored on the memory and executable by the processor to perform the processes in accordance with this invention. Such computing system is well known in the art and hence only briefly described herein. The instructions may be developed in Python, Java or C++ language (or any other known programming language) and can be run on System on Chip (SoC) like Raspberry Pi and/or mobile devices like cell phones or tablet PCs and/or desktop PCs.

[0056] A set of instructions may be provided on the memory and executable by the processor for image reconstruction which will be performed with the signals received from the sensor coils on the gyroscopic and optical translation sensors in the handheld probe 150 to provide the 3D position and direction vector / tilt of the “magnetic beam”. Acquired signals from the sensor coils correspond temporally to the instantaneous 3D position and direction of the beam will be assigned to that spatial beam position and direction. Spatial encoding within the beam itself is performed by the difference in magnetic field strength drop-off with distance for the static field and the excitation system, resulting in excitation of the nanoparticles along different subsections of the magnetic nanoparticle magnetization response curve (M-H) curve depending on the distance along the beam axis from the hMPI probe. For example, nanoparticles closer to the hMPI probe traverse the M-H curve to a further extent in H-field from the zero-crossing point, generating a different magnetization signature from nanoparticles farther from the hMPI probe that traverses the M-H curve closely around both sides of the zero-crossing point due to a shorter extent of the H-field. Clear differences in the curve shape are observed after normalizing to peak height and can be resolved by de-convolution or other inverse problem algorithms to assign the signal within the beam-axis to different depth locations along the beam.

[0057] After normalizing to fO height, clear differences in the spectra slope are observed which can be resolved by de-convolution or other inverse problem algorithms to assign the signal within the beam- axis to different depth locations along the beam. Furthermore, the use of internal and external pair of sensors sandwiching the transmitter coil leads to a sensitivity map that will invert the nanoparticle signal in a depth-dependent manner along the central magnetic beam and will greatly help in spatial encoding within the beam axis when used in conjunction with abovementioned spatial encoding strategies.

[0058] A set of instructions may be provided on the memory and executable by the processor for image reconstruction and may also include instructions for reconstructing multiple smaller field-of-views. A larger field-of-view or whole -body images can be reconstructed from multiple smaller field-of-view with knowledge of the 3D position of the hMPI probe 150 via translation sensors. The overlapping images of smaller field-of-views can be stitched together in reconstruction in the same fashion as camera panorama image algorithms.

[0059] A set of instructions may be provided on the memory and executable by the processor for monitoring the position of the handheld probe 150 and will prompt the operator to cover all angles of tilt to fully sweep the “magnetic beam” across entire 3D conic volume, obviating the need for strong electromagnets to shift the generated magnetic field around.

[0060] The acquisition trajectory of tilting a “beam” through a 3D conic volume is different from existing MPI methods using a raster trajectory or a Lissajous trajectory for the field-free- point or field-freeline, and from the 2D conic sections of ultrasound with finite slice thickness. [0061] A set of instructions may be provided on the memory and executable by the processor for triggering monotonous (sinusoidal) or arbitrary function excitation pulse sequence for the hMPI excitation to enable different methods of spatial encoding. When the quantity and/or spread of the imaging agent on the inanimate structural implant is known (for example from the medical records), the information may be incorporated into the algorithm prior to the reconstruction of the image, unlike a typical scan which would not have this data available. Advantageously, this requires less information to be derived from the imaging making it less computationally intensive.

[0062] The inclusion of prior information will greatly improve the detection sensitivity of the scan. If there is no prior information about the suture and if there is a patterned nodal design or not, imaging will relapse to a regular MPI scan that assumes location and intensity to be fully unknown. While an image can still be obtained, it will not be as highly -resolved or as sensitive at detecting suture breakage although typical breakages should still be detectable. The system 100 works best with a synchronized suture design (imaging agent pattern) and scan imaging system. In an embodiment, the imaging system 100 may be used as a follow-up monitoring system post-surgery / post-implant, where the medical information of the suture/implant will be available or shared in most cases. The system 100 as described herein may not be as advantageous as a rapid diagnosis system in the Emergency Room for a trauma patient with unknown medical history.

[0063] The recorded sensor data on the gyroscopic and optical translation sensors will also provide the 3D position and direction vector of the MPI probe 150.

[0064] As an example, the thermal cooling unit 120 may be a heat sink with a fan arranged above the transmitter and receiver coils in the handheld probe 150 to cool the transmitter and receiver coils. Further details on the arrangement of the thermal cooling unit 120 and the handheld probe 150 would be described below with reference to FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. [0065] The transmitter 130 is a generation system for generating a magnetic field. The generation system includes at least one magnet, where the magnetic field within the observation region is spatially structured without a field free region (FFR) for an object under observation to ‘prime’ the magnetic nanoparticles, but where the directional excitation system can interact with the patterned magnetic field to generate spatial patterns of spatial selective excitation of magnetic nanoparticles coupled to the inanimate structural implant.

[0066] The transmitter 130 comprises an MPI power amplifier 131 and transmit filters 132. The transmitter 130 further comprises an excitation system 133 for providing signals to the priming frame. The MPI power amplifier 131 amplifies signal generated by the processing unit 110. Specifically, the processing unit generates a signal to be amplified by the power amplifier 131. This signal will be coordinated with other signals to the priming frame for the case of electromagnets or movable magnets on the priming frame serving as signal enhancer or dampener purpose with a spatial pattern. Preferably, the MPI power amplifier should provide 1100 - 2200 W of power across 0.1 kHz - 100 kHz to accommodate a wide range of MPI scan strategies. The transmit filters 132 are provided to generate signal at a required frequency. This signal at the required frequency is transmitted to the transmitter coil in the handheld probe 150. The transmit filters 132 improve the fidelity of the transmitter coil signal but are not always required.

[0067] The transmitter 130 is configured to generate two signals, a fixed known magnetic field in beam shape and patterned magnetic fields. The fixed known magnetic field in beam shape is for the transmit coil 1730 serving as an excitation purpose to elicit response from magnetic nanoparticles. The patterned magnetic fields is for the priming frame serving as signal enhancer or dampener purpose with a spatial pattern. In this embodiment, the electromagnets are used in the priming frame and the transmit coil 1730. In another embodiment where permanent magnets are used in the priming frame, the transmitter does not need to signal the priming frame.

[0068] The receiver 140 comprises an MPI receiver filter 141 to receive the signal at a desired frequency from the receiver coil in the handheld probe 150. The received signal is then transmitted to the MPI preamplifier 142 to amplify the received signal before being translated from analogue to digital signal by the analogue to digital converter (ADC) 143. The digital signal is then transmitted to the processing unit 110 which will in turn process the digital signal. The ADC 143 may also be used for filtering (high-pass or band-stop) of the excitation frequency to further improve direct feedthrough mitigation to better than 100 dB.

[0069] An ultrasound control and receiver 160 may be added. The hMPI system 100 may be integrated with the ultrasound control and receiver 160 to provide the anatomic reference as opposed to MPI integrated with CT or MRI due to the similar nature of the “in-bore” imaging context. In other words, the hMPI system 100 is capable of simultaneously acquiring both the ultrasound anatomic reference and MPI image.

[0070] To minimize cross-talk between the electronic circuits of hMPI and ultrasound, the circuits should operate at different frequencies. For example, the hMPI operating frequency range may be between 10 Hz - 1 MHz, and the ultrasound operating frequency range may be above 1 MHz.

[0071] The recorded sensor data on the gyroscopic and optical translation sensors will also provide the 3D position and direction vector / slice thickness of the ultrasound to reconstruct a 3D ultrasound conic volume section for anatomic reference to co-register the hMPI 3D conic volume section.

[0072] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the handheld probe 150. FIG. 6 shows a cross sectional view of the handheld probe 150. FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 show an embodiment of the sensor coils and the transmit coil in the handheld probe in a cross-sectional view and a plan view respectively. The handheld probe 150 includes a housing 210 with an ergonomic handheld grip 211; a thermal cooling section 230 that is communicatively connected to the thermal cooling unit 120; an MPI transmitter and receiver compartment 240 housing a transmitter that is communicatively connected to the MPI power amplifier 131 or the transmit filters 132 and a receiver that is communicatively connected to the receiver 140; and a MPI priming frame 220 that is communicatively connected to the excitation system 133.

[0073] In the hMPI system 100 described there does not exist a sub-area with low or null magnetic field strength and although the generated magnetic field is spatially inhomogeneous, there is sufficient magnetic field strength everywhere to ‘prime’ all nanoparticles in the field- of-view to reach the nonlinear magnetization response of magnetic nanoparticles. This is achieved by the arrangement of the magnetic components in the MPI priming frame 220. The magnetic components is arranged proximate to the observation region to create an excitation region. This excitation region has a magnetic field direction and magnetic field strength spatial drop-off designed to interact with the static field to produce spatial patterns of excitation in the nanoparticle distribution within the observation region. The magnetic components in the MPI priming frame 220, may be a permanent magnet or an electromagnet, are spatially arrayed to produce the required magnetic field spatial shape in 3D for hMPI. The components can either be passive, or actively controlled by the processing unit 110 i.e. electromagnet, shiftable parts. [0074] The magnetic component, for example a neodymium magnet (NdFeB) may be evenly distributed around the MPI priming frame 220. The MPI priming frame may have a concentric circle shape or a hexagonal shape. In another example, the magnetic component forms the MPI priming frame 220. Other arrangements of the magnetic components are possible as long as it is able to function as described herein.

[0075] The MPI transmitter and receiver compartment 240 is configured to house a detection system and a transmitter system. The detection system is arranged proximate to the observation region 1710. Rather than detecting signal in the same directional axis as the excitation, the hMPI system 100 can include one or more sensor coils to detect the signal in multiple directional axes to aid with spatial encoding and reconstruction.

[0076] When exciting the magnetic nanoparticles in the priming frame 220 at the operating frequency, the magnetic sensor coil will also receive the excitation at the operating frequency and this is commonly known as direct feedthrough from transmitter to receiver. This creates a problem of swamping the small nanoparticle magnetic signal with the much larger excitation signal. [0077] For feedthrough mitigation, unlike in-bore MPI receiver designs that utilize a gradiometric design, the hMPI system is disadvantaged in the single-sided context, a conventional equal-coil- size gradiometric design will lose significant amounts of signal for a magnetic signal source placed outside of the gradiometer body with greater losses the further the source is away from the sensor body. For in-bore MPI, the magnetic signal source can be placed in one side of the gradiometer and not the other. To address this issue, the hMPI system 100 uses two concentric sensor coils 1721 and 1722 with similar winding but in opposite directions and located within and outside of the transmit coil 1730 which is concentric to the sensor coils 1721 and 1722 as shown in FIG. 7. The similar winding of both sensor coils 1721 and 1722 means that minimal signal from an externally located magnetic source is wasted, but due to the different magnetic field directions and magnitude of the transmit coil outside and within of itself, direct feedthrough can be mitigated. For example, within the transmit coil 1730, the magnetic flux density is a lot higher than outside the transmit coil 1730. The unequal sensor coil diameter of the external sensor coil 1721 and internal sensor coil 1722 minimizes negation of sensitivity by the two sensor coils 1721 and 1722, especially at-depth where the small diameter internal sensor coil’s 1722 sensitivity region cannot reach. The loss in sensitivity is restricted to a central spot and disappears after 10mm depth. Furthermore, from 0mm to 10mm depth, the sensitivity map is inverted at this central spot due to the internal sensor coil 1722. This will invert the nanoparticle signal in a depth-dependent manner along the central magnetic beam, and thus will greatly help in spatial encoding within the beam axis when used in conjunction with abovementioned spatial encoding strategies.

[0078] In addition, signal recording strategies of only using the second or third harmonic or fifth harmonic of the magnetic nanoparticle signal can also be used in addition to abovementioned strategies to further mitigate feedthrough.

[0079] In an embodiment, an electromagnet is used in the MPI system 100. The electromagnet may be configured to apply alternating magnetic fields, for example at low frequencies. The operating frequency of the electromagnet may be tuned higher by changing the resonant power capacitor and allows the electromagnet to switch between a low frequency mode and a high frequency mode. The low frequency mode may be used for MPI imaging while the high frequency mode may be used for heating. Preferably, the same electromagnet is used to both image and to heat. Alternatively, another high-frequency electromagnet may be installed within the MPI scan system which may be used for heating, and may be controlled to be activated when the heating is required.

[0080] An apparatus 1740 with a thumb screw 1741 may be used for fine translation of one sensor coil relative to the transmit coil 1730 to strengthen or weaken the inductive voltage of one sensor coil for fine adjustment purposes to ensure that the inductive voltage on both sensors coils 1721 and 1722 are equal and exactly out-of-phase. As shown in FIG. 7, the apparatus 1740 with a thumb screw 1741 is adapted to be coupled to the internal sensor coil 1722 for the fine translation of the internal sensor coil 1722. More specifically, the thumb screw 1741 allows movement of the internal sensor coil 1722 in the directions of the arrow 1742 so that the internal sensor coil 1722 moves closer to the probe surface 250 or away from the probe surface 250. For exact out-of-phase tuning, tunable RLC circuits with tunable capacitor or resistor may be added to the sensor circuits.

[0081] The MPI transmitter and receiver compartment 240 is housed within the main housing 210 which has a convex probe surface 250 to produce a conic one sided field-of-view 260 similar to ultrasound as opposed to “within-bore” field-of-view of full-bore MPI scanners or “flat pancake” field-of-view of single-sided MPI. Acquisition of the conic field-of-view sweeps the “magnetic beam” to cover the conic volume as facilitated by the slightly convex surface 250 of the hMPI handheld probe 150.

[0082] The 3D position and direction of the “magnetic beam” are recorded by the sensor coils 1721 and 1722 with gyroscopic and optical translation sensors in the hMPI handheld probe 150. The parameters of these sensors are critical in subsequent image reconstruction based on the magnetic signal recorded from hMPI transmit receive components. Some ideal specifications are as follows. For the optical translation sensor, optical resolution better than 1600 dpi and refresh rate of above 6000 samples per second corresponding to at least 15 kHz operating frequency with 20% duty cycle would be ideal. For the gyroscopic sensor, angular rate measurement better than ±100 degrees per second in all 3 cartesian axes with bias stability of lower (better) than 1 degree per hour. The parameters of these sensors are selected for the purpose of aiding in digital recording of the magnetic beam position and tilt.

[0083] Existing prior art uses heavy-duty electromagnets to rapidly shift the magnetic field in 3D-space, and calculates the magnetic field position from the electromagnet parameters. Conversely, embodiments herein generate a fixed known magnetic field in beam shape, and utilize gyroscopic and optical translation sensors to measure the beam position for image reconstruction. The hMPI system 100 includes gyroscopic and optical translation sensors. The optical translation sensor which may be a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor may be arranged at the probe surface 250 and in the middle of the internal sensor coil 1722. Alternatively, an optical fiber is piped through the internal sensor coil 1722 and along the vertical axis 1810 (avoiding cross-talk with the magnetic components in the internal sensor coil 1722) so that light is received from the piped optical fiber directed to the CMOS image sensor located away from the probe surface 250.

[0084] To measure the beam tilt, one embodiment places the gyroscope along the vertical axis 1810 of the hMPI probe in order to sense tilt when the probe is conically tilted to interrogate a conic field-of-view. To measure the lateral translation in the x-y plane, the ideal location would be along the vertical axis of the hMPI probe 150 and approximately at the bottom surface and in the middle of the internal sensor coil 1722. Alternatively, to make space for other components, the gyroscopic sensors could also be placed away from the vertical axis. In this embodiment, the gyroscopic sensors will need to be located in at least two positions on the outermost radial positions from the hMPI vertical axis, which in this particular embodiment would be at the edges of the priming frame 220. Two positions will allow tracking of lateral translation while compensating for any erroneous rotation about the vertical axis 1810 of the handheld probe 150.

[0085] FIG. 1 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 10 of imaging an inanimate structural implant in a tissue. The method may include: at 12, positioning a magnetic particle imaging device or system 100 proximal to the inanimate structural implant in the tissue. The inanimate structural implant may be coupled to at least one magnetic particle. At 14, exciting at least one magnetic particle with a generated magnetic field from the magnetic particle imaging device; at 16, receiving a signal from the excited at least one magnetic particle; and at 18, constructing an image of the inanimate structural implant based on the signal.

[0086] An inanimate structural implant may be an existing implant, such as sutures, catheters, pacemakers, artificial joints, etc. The inanimate structural implant may incorporate at least one magnetic particle. The magnetic particle/s may be any existing and suitable magnetic particle that is biocompatible and has been approved for use in patients. An example is iron oxide. The magnetic particle may also be in various forms, such as a nanoparticle, microparticle, thin film, powder, or paint coat. The magnetic particles may be applied as a coating covering part of the inanimate structural implant. For example, the magnetic particle coating may cover at least half or cover the entire exterior surface of the inanimate structural implant. Advantageously, the latter allows the MPI system to image the exterior surface of the inanimate structural implant. The MPI system may comprise at least a handheld probe, an MPI imaging data receiving module, an MPI imaging data processing module, and a display for visualizing the image of the scanned implant in tissue.

[0087] In one example, the inanimate structural implant in a tissue may be a suture. After a wound stitching procedure, a contactless imaging method may be beneficial to ensure the wound healing process is progressing. At 12, the handheld probe of the MPI system may be positioned proximal to the inanimate structural implant, e.g. sutures, to provide a contactless option to visualize the integrity of the inanimate structural implant. The MPI imaging method 10 allows frequent monitoring of the integrity of the inanimate structural implant without the need to use radioactive labels or surgically open up the patient. This allows for the early and prompt intervention of problems in the inanimate structural implant.

[0088] The handheld probe of the MPI system 100 may generate a magnetic field that excites the at least one magnetic particle coupled to the inanimate structural implant in the tissue. The handheld probe 150 of the MPI system 100 receives a signal from the excited magnetic particle and may be processed as described above. The received signal may be used by the MPI system 100 to construct an image of the inanimate structural implant.

[0089] In an embodiment, the generated magnetic field excites the at least one magnetic particle selectively in a spatial manner. This may be done by generating a pulsed excitation magnetic field and generating a patterned magnetic field. The interaction of the pulsed excitation magnetic field and the patterned magnetic field may provide selective excitation of the at least one magnetic particle in a spatial manner. The patterned magnetic fields may serve as a signal enhancer or dampener purpose with a spatial pattern, while the pulsed excitation magnetic field may serve as an excitation purpose to elicit a response from the at least one magnetic particle coupled to inanimate structural implant.

[0090] The method 10 may further include recording a position and direction of the generated magnetic field. The signal from the excited at least one magnetic particle may be received by a single-sided three-axis detection array that may be configured to utilize a directionality of the received signal to aid in constructing the image of the inanimate structural implant.

[0091] The spatial resolution of the hMPI system 100 may not be greater than 2mm, but the system may be sufficient to resolve sutures that are spaced apart in a range of 10mm or more, for example 10mm to 15 mm. The system 100 may provide an adjustable focal plane and may z-stack the images taken by the system to form a three-dimensional image to fully assess the entire suture length.

[0092] FIG. 2 shows schematic workflows of how a suture may be imaged and may be broken down into four stages. In Stage 1, an existing suture may be coupled to one or more magnetic particles. In Stage 2, the suture coupled with the magnetic particle may be used as per a normal suture to stitch up a wound by a medical practitioner. In Stage 3, the suture may be imaged using the hMPI system 100. In Stage 4, image construction and analysis of the imaging results are done.

[0093] The mechanism of binding to the implant or suture will vary according to the chemical surface of the target object. Some embodiments will be a slurry dipping technique where the material together with the binder will coat and dry onto the object, some embodiments will involve direct covalent bonds such as amide bonding, some embodiments will be adhesive i.e. epoxy bonding, and other embodiments will embed the magnetic material within the biocompatible coating. This could be done during the manufacturing process or as a postprocessing step by the user before use. Thus, existing implants and sutures may be marked with a magnetic material which may be a nanoparticle, a microparticle, a thin film, a powder or a paint coat. Hence, the coupling of the magnetic particle may be via a direct covalent bond, an adhesive bond (for example epoxy bonds), or is embedded within a carrier bonded to the implant or suture. In particular, the carrier should be biocompatible and may be used with nonbiocompatible magnetic particles for separation from the body. Any imaging agent that works with MPI may be attached to the implant. Depending on the size, it may be difficult to weave the magnetic particles into the micron-sized fiber, especially the smaller particles in nanometer range. Hence, attachment to the fiber is preferred rather than having the particles mechanically “caught or woven” between fibers (such as silk fibroin fibers). In an example, 25 nm magnetic nanoparticles (NMPs) composed of iron oxide are used to coat a suture. The magnetic nanoparticles should preferably be approximately evenly coated on the suture. [0094] In Stage 2, the implant or suture will be used with conventional workflow in surgical or clinical applications such as colorectal surgeries, gastrointestinal surgeries, metastatic cancer spine replacement/repair, bone implant surgery, orthopaedics field such as tendon/ligament/cartilage implant surgery. There is anticipated to be no change to the current clinical workflow for the use of the implants or sutures modified with the magnetic particle. Depending on the surgical stitching methods and the wound, the suture may be completely or partially within the tissue.

[0095] In Stage 3, optionally after completion of the surgery, an initial timepoint handheld MPI scan may be performed. If performed, this image will serve as a reference image to compare to and assess degradation or failure of the implant or suture later. Advantageously, no injection of imaging agent or contrast agent is necessary for the first or any subsequent scans as the magnetic material is already on the implant or suture. For additional safety, the magnetic material should be biocompatible such as iron oxide based magnetic material so that it may be degraded by the body. Additional scans may be performed days, weeks and months after the implant or suture process (Stage 2) has been completed to monitor the structural integrity and for any changes in morphology that could point to defects in the implant or suture that need to be rectified.

[0096] In Stage 4, construction of the implant or suture image is performed based on the scan done in Stage 3. Comparison with the scans at different timepoints may be used to assess the integrity of the implant or suture. For example, internal sutures are made with clear zig-zag image patterns that will dramatically change into a “loose string” image pattern if the suture has snapped as the high strain on the suture leads to unravelling of the suture even if the breakage is only at one point. The handheld MPI system 100 may directly image the suture pattern in minutes and clearly show the breakage point through tissue and at-depth without the need to inject any imaging agent, preparing the patient to perform a CT (radiation dose) or surgically opening up the body cavity of the patient to visually verify the rupture. The information on the quantity and/or spread of the imaging agent on the inanimate structural implant may be incorporated into the algorithm to construct the image if it is available (for example from the medical records) and would simplify the data processing required allowing for the results to be obtained quickly and without requiring high computational resources. The inclusion of prior information will greatly improve the detection sensitivity of the scan. If there is no prior information about the suture and if there is a patterned nodal design or not, imaging will relapse to a regular MPI scan that assumes location and intensity to be fully unknown. While an image can still be obtained, it will not be as highly-resolved or as sensitive at detecting suture breakage although typical breakages should still be detectable.

[0097] In addition, the 3D scan characteristics of the implant or suture network may be leveraged with Al-assisted prediction of implant or suture failure by detecting minute differences from the initial timepoint image to the current timepoint image. A database of existing images of implants or sutures, both intact and damaged or ruptured, at different timepoints may be used to train a machine learning model which can then be used to predict the integrity or possibility of rupture of an implant or suture based on a new image.

[0098] In Stage 4 of FIG. 2, an intact suture and a ruptured suture is shown, and the difference between the two images shows the stark contrast between an intact suture and a ruptured suturethat is provided by the embodiments described herein. The intact suture is seen as a clear defined line whereas the middle portion of ruptured suture is missing with jagged edges at the end portions. An ultrasound cannot be used to view such thin sutures. A CT scan can image these sutures, but the cost and time to prepare the patient make it in unfeasible for regular monitoring.

[0099] In Stage 4 of FIG. 2, a number of sutures are shown in the constructed image. In the right picture in Stage 4, the intact sutures are visible while the left picture shows that several sutures have ruptured.

[00100] FIG. 3 shows an expanded view of a stitched wound. The incision 42 is indicated by the dotted lines, while the continuous suture 44 is indicated by the solid line. The stitched wound has a bite separation 48 of about 10-15 mm and a bite depth 46 of 10 mm. FIG. 3 further shows a photo of a wound with an intact suture and a ruptured suture. Imaging of both the intact suture and ruptured suture shows the clear differences in their respective images. The suture or implant can be implanted to a depth greater than 2 cm which is not possible with existing imaging methods. In an example, the suture implant may be placed up to 8cm deep (the exact depth is dependent on the field-of-view characteristics of the MPI device which vary slightly with size and gradient strength). The patient may be imaged from the front or back depending on which side is closer to the suture. FIG. 3 shows a catheter which is similar in shape to a suture and which may be similarly imaged like the suture shown in FIG. 3 [00101] Advantageously, the various embodiments described herein allow for the imaging of sutures and implants that are implanted deeply into the tissue at a depth of greater than 2 cm. the modified sutures and implants may be used as per existing sutures and implants without any changes to the clinical workflow, and the medical practitioner does not need to change an existing surgical procedure. The magnetic particle may be easily and conveniently coated on to an existing suture either at the hospital or at a manufacturing site. By selecting biodegradable magnetic particles like iron oxide which is approved for use in MRI by the US Food and Drug Administration, the patient and medical practitioner donot need to worry about the toxicity caused by the magnetic particles. The imaging method described herein allows for better contrast between intact and ruptured sutures to provide quick and simple diagnosis which can be carried out routinely and frequently at a low cost. Compared to existing methods, the imaging method described herein allows the suture integrity to be directly visualized without being confounded by the in vivo environment.

[00102] In an embodiment, optional application of disinfection where the magnetic agents already on the implant can be externally, non-invasively heated using alternating magnetic fields to either destroy bacteria in the vicinity, promote healing through removal of wound debris, or mild hyperthermia to improve blood flow for healing of wound site. In the case of surgery for cancer, the implant/suture can provide heat to kill any leftover cancerous cells in the same-session or across multiple sessions to reduce the likelihood of relapse post-surgery.

[00103] Biodegradable sutures are desirable to remove the need for follow-up suture removal, especially for internal sutures. However, current biodegradable sutures face a tradeoff of need-for-biodegradation versus failure of the suture due to premature biodegradation. With magnetic agents on the suture, it is possible to use magnetic hyperthermia (not MPI imaging) to produce heat to trigger rapid biodegradation after handheld MPI imaging verification that the sutures have remained intact for the prescribed healing period. For example, heat-sensitive biodegradable materials may be incorporated in the suture composition such as poly(lactide-co-glycolide) in which a 6-degree increase in local temperature within the suture (from 37 °C to 43 °C) can accelerate the degradation of the polymer.

[00104] The heating may be provided by generating alternating magnetic fields with the MPI system 100. In an embodiment, the electromagnet in the MPI system 100 applies alternating magnetic fields at low frequencies. The electromagnet operating frequency may be tuned higher by changing the resonant power capacitor and allows a user to switch frequencies between imaging-low-frequency mode and heating-high-frequency mode in the MPI system. Ideally, the same electromagnet is used, otherwise, another high-frequency electromagnet may be installed within the MPI scan system to only be turned on for heating.

[00105] Advantageously, the sutures coated with magnetic particles have theranostic potential (able to act as both a therapeutic and diagnostic agent) by using heat, in particular heat generated by the alternating magnetic fields. Since the sutures are located at the site where a tumor (e.g. colorectal tumor) is removed or wound site where infection starts from, the magnetic heating is in close proximity to kill residual cancer cells or bacteria. In addition, the heat may be used to selectively trigger biodegradationof the suture rather than naturally allowing it to degrade over time.

[00106] While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to specific embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The scope of the invention is thus indicated by the appended claims and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims and therefore intended to be embraced.

Claims

1. A method of imaging an inanimate structural implant in a tissue, the method comprising positioning a magnetic particle imaging device proximal to the inanimate structural implant in the tissue, the inanimate structural implant coupled to at least one magnetic particle; exciting the at least one magnetic particle with a generated magnetic field from the magnetic particle imaging device; receiving a signal from the excited at least one magnetic particle; and constructing an image of the inanimate structural implant based on the signal.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein exciting the at least one magnetic particle with the generated magnetic field comprises exciting the at least one magnetic particle selectively in a spatial manner.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein exciting the at least one magnetic particle selectively in a spatial manner comprises generating a pulsed excitation magnetic field and generating a patterned magnetic field, wherein interaction of the pulsed excitation magnetic field and the patterned magnetic field provides selective excitation of the at least one magnetic particle in the spatial manner.

4. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising recording a position and direction of the generated magnetic field.

5. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the signal from the excited at least one magnetic particle is received by a single-sided three axis detection array configured to utilize a directionality of the received signal to aid in constructing the image of the inanimate structural implant.

6. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the inanimate structural implant is a suture or a catheter.

. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the at least one magnetic particle is biocompatible.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the at least one magnetic particle comprises iron oxide. . The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the at least one magnetic particle is in a form of a nanoparticle, microparticle, thin film, powder, or paint coat.

10. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the at least one magnetic particle is coated on an exterior of the inanimate structural implant.

11. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein data on a quantity and/or a spread of the at least one magnetic particle coupled to the inanimate structural implant is used to aid constructing the image of the inanimate structural implant.

12. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein a plurality of nodes on the inanimate structural implant is defined, wherein exciting the at least one magnetic particle with a generated magnetic field and receiving a signal from the excited at least one magnetic particle is performed at a high trajectory density.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of nodes corresponds to a common inanimate structural implant failure spot or failure mode.

14. The method as claimed in claim 12 or 13, wherein the plurality of nodes is interspersed at an interval larger than a blurring spot size of a point source, wherein constructing the image of the inanimate structural implant includes improving imaging spatial resolution via a centroid-detection model.

15. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14, further comprising obtaining a first image and a second image, wherein the first image and the second image are constructed at different timepoints.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15, further comprising comparing the first image and the second image.

17. The method as claimed in claim 16, further comprising determining integrity of the inanimate structural implant based on the comparison of the first image and the second image.

18. The method as claimed in claim 17, further comprising predicting failure of integrity of the inanimate structural implant by a machine learning model.

19. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 18, further comprising implanting the inanimate structural implant into the tissue.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19, further comprising coupling the at least one magnetic particle to the inanimate structural implant.

21. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein the inanimate structural implant is coupled to the at least one magnetic particle by any one from the group consisting of a direct covalent bond, an adhesive bond, and embedded within a carrier bonded to the inanimate structural implant.

22. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 21, further comprising heating the inanimate structural implant with a plurality of alternating magnetic fields.

23. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein exciting the at least one magnetic particle with a generated magnetic field is done at a low frequency of the generated magnetic field and heating the inanimate structural implant with a plurality of alternating magnetic fields is done at a high frequency of the alternating magnetic fields.

24. A method of heating an inanimate structural implant, the method comprising positioning a device proximal to the inanimate structural implant in the tissue, wherein the device is configured to generate alternating magnetic fields and the inanimate structural implant is coupled to at least one magnetic particle; generating alternating magnetic fields with the device; and heating the inanimate structural implant with the generated alternating magnetic fields. The method as claimed in claim 24, wherein heating the inanimate structural implant disinfects a surrounding region of the inanimate structural implant. The method as claimed in claim 24, wherein heating the inanimate structural implant removes debris in a surrounding region of the inanimate structural implant. The method as claimed in claim 24, wherein heating the inanimate structural implant improves blood flow to a surrounding region of the inanimate structural implant. The method as claimed in claim 24, wherein heating the inanimate structural implant kills cancer cells in a surrounding region of the inanimate structural implant. The method as claimed in claim 24, wherein the inanimate structural implant is a suture and heating the inanimate structural implant triggers rapid biodegradation of the suture. A portable magnetic particle imaging device comprising a handheld probe having a main casing housing a first sensor coil, a second sensor coil, a transmitter coil arranged between the first sensor coil and the second sensor coil, and an excitation priming frame housing an electromagnet which is configured to selectively switch between two or more frequencies, wherein a low frequency is used for magnetic particle imaging and a high frequency is used for heating of a site containing a magnetic particle; and a processing unit comprising a transmitter communicatively connected to the transmitter coil and the excitation priming frame, and a receiver communicatively connected to the first sensor coil and the second sensor coil.