Molecular Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Magnetic resonance medical imaging, which is based on the principles of nuclear magnetic resonance, makes an image of the NMR signal in a narrow slice right through the human body. Pictures taken sequentially build a three dimensional image of anatomical structures. Magnetic resonance medical imaging is the diagnostic tool of choice for viewing the nervous system as well as evaluating soft tissue.

Molecular magnetic resonance medical imaging brings the level of visualization and analysis to the cellular and molecular level. At this level, it's feasible to stalk and assess cellular functions that will give never-before-available medical imaging insight into the disease process. For instance, there has long been an established connection between inflammation and heart disease. Yet, the medical imaging tools to calculate inflammation related to the heart have not been accessible at a adequate enough level of measurement to completely explore the connection.

The January 16, 2007 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences printed a study by researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York that uses molecular MRI medical imaging to get insight into the correlation between inflammation and heart disease. Researchers built a synthetic material, gadolinium�diethyltriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), that is able to discover and attach to white blood cells imbedded in arterial walls. The DPTA permitted mMRI medical imaging visualization of the WBC's, giving them the ability to actually number the cells and assess how stable they are. Researchers found a relationship between the amount of white cells imbedded in the arterial walls and the likelihood of following heart attack. The initial research was done on mice.

Additional research will soon be performed on larger mammals and if it's successful, the research will move to human clinical trials. The search for more efficient and more exact medical imaging "tagging" media is the hottest new field of research in molecular magnetic resonance medical imaging. Lately, researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley have reported on research relating to a modern medical imaging technique for molecular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that can perceive molecules 10,000x lower concentrations than traditional MRI techniques. The method, named HYPER-CEST, for hyperpolarized xenon chemical exchange saturation transfer, increases the atom's MRI signal by hyperpolarizing them with laser light, then places the atoms into a nanoscale cage biosensor which is made specific for a individual protein target. This method will most likely be particularly useful in identifying cancer cells at the most primitive stages of cancer presence.

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Author Jesse Fisher enjoys composing articles for his clients including Transamerican Medical, a company that buys and sells Philips Medical equipment and parts. See also Imaging Centers online directory.