Breakthrough in MRI Contrast Agents Promises Extended Imaging Time for Metabolic Imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a mainstream noninvasive medical imaging modality of enormous clinical importance. Unfortunately, conventional MRI is generally unable to detect metabolites that are important clinical markers of pathological states such as cancer, mainly because these metabolites are typically present at very low concentrations. In a recent study led by Dr. Itai Katz, a Research Associate at the lab of Prof. Aharon Blank from the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry together with Prof. Boaz Pokroy and his PhD student, Dr. Arad Lang, from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Prof. Benno Meier from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the authors describe a new method, termed Matrix Magnetization Vehicles (MMV), to boost the nuclear magnetic resonance signal of metabolites and maintain it for a long time (several minutes compared to ~ 1 minute in the current approaches).

Prof. Aharon Blank, lead researcher on the study, stated: "This approach could finally make metabolic MRI practical for routine clinical use by providing a much wider imaging time window. We're excited about the potential to gain new insights into disease processes and treatment effects."