Molecular Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Magnetic resonance medical imaging, based on the principles of nuclear magnetic resonance, produces a picture of the NMR signal in a thin slice right through the human body. Pictures taken in sequence build a 3D image of anatomical structures. Magnetic resonance medical imaging is the preferred analytical tool for visualizing the brain and spinal cord as well as assessing soft tissue.
Molecular magnetic resonance imaging allows for the visualization and analysis of cells and molecules. At this level, it is possible to stalk and assess cellular functions that will offer never-before-available medical imaging insight into the disease process. For instance, scientists have long known about the correlation between inflammation and heart disease. However, the medical imaging tools to measure inflammation related to the heart have not been available at a fine enough level of measurement to fully explore the relationship.
On January sixteenth 2007 the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences printed a study that uses molecular MRI medical imaging to receive insight into the correlation connecting inflammation and heart disease. Researchers made a synthetic material, gadoliniumdiethyltriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), that's able to discover and attach to WBC's (white blood cells) imbedded in arterial walls. The DPTA permitted mMRI medical imaging visualization of the WBC's, giving them the ability to actually count the number of cells and assess how stable they are. Researchers found a positive relationship between the amount of white cells stuck in the arterial walls and the odds of later heart attack. The primary research was performed on mice. Further research will be performed on larger mammals and if it is successful, human clinical trails will follow. The discovery of better, more efficient and more exact medical imaging tagging media is the most popular new field of research in molecular magnetic resonance medical imaging. Recently, researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley have given their report on research involving a new medical imaging technique for molecular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that can detect molecules 10,000x lower concentrations than traditional MRI techniques. The technique, named HYPER-CEST, for hyperpolarized xenon chemical exchange saturation transfer, increases the atom's MRI signal by hyperpolarizing them with laser light, then puts the atoms into a nanoscale cage biosensor that is made specific for a particular protein target. This medical imaging technique will most likely be particularly useful in detecting cancer cells at the most primitive stages of cancer.
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Author Jesse Fisher likes writing articles for his clients including Transamerican Medical, a business that resells Philips Medical equipment and parts. See also Medical Imaging News.