An extremely important medical imaging development in detecting diseases is magnetic resonance imaging. This is dependent on the injection of contrast material to highlight specific tissue or to differentiate between healthy and diseased tissue. The materials used in this medical imaging procedure tend to have the drawback of being either simply constructed and managed in the body but giving low contrast OR very complex in construction and providing sharper medical imaging contrast but with less stability when injected.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology has been working together with researchers at Florida State University and the University of Colorado at Boulder to create new medical imaging contrast materials that are highly magnetic, highly uniform (and thereby easier to manage) and tiny. This blend of attributes will work together to create a very safe, predictable, extremely effective contract solution that can be used in medical imaging.
Florida State University researcher Naresh Dalal and other researchers have developed a magnetic molecule identified as "Fe8." Fe8 includes every one of the preferred attributes. This single molecule magnet has eight ion bonds, is water-soluble and non-toxic.
Newly published articles describe the molecules test results which show that Fe8 provides good contrast in non-clinical MRI studies dispelling a former confusion regarding the value of Fe8 in medical imaging. The research had conflicting results because the concentration of Fe8 had not been taken into account during testing.
This progress is partly due to improvements in the field of nanotechnology. Nanotechnologists work with elements that are infinitesimally small. The techniques that are available to measure and manipulate these tiny particles of matter will be used to support additional research on Fe8. Researchers are hoping that these newer medical imaging contrast media will be able to be manipulated for even bigger benefit than this original research suggests. For instance, researchers are seeking ways to "turn on" and "turn off" the medical imaging contrast qualities by creating contrast media that binds only to certain other molecules or binds just when subject to certain conditions that can be monitored and managed.
Although this breakthrough in contrast media for medical imaging is enormously promising and may well provide a great leap forward in the quality of magnetic resonance imaging, there's still a great deal of testing and research to be accomplished before Fe8 can be made available for use in human population studies.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology has been working together with researchers at Florida State University and the University of Colorado at Boulder to create new medical imaging contrast materials that are highly magnetic, highly uniform (and thereby easier to manage) and tiny. This blend of attributes will work together to create a very safe, predictable, extremely effective contract solution that can be used in medical imaging.
Florida State University researcher Naresh Dalal and other researchers have developed a magnetic molecule identified as "Fe8." Fe8 includes every one of the preferred attributes. This single molecule magnet has eight ion bonds, is water-soluble and non-toxic.
Newly published articles describe the molecules test results which show that Fe8 provides good contrast in non-clinical MRI studies dispelling a former confusion regarding the value of Fe8 in medical imaging. The research had conflicting results because the concentration of Fe8 had not been taken into account during testing.
This progress is partly due to improvements in the field of nanotechnology. Nanotechnologists work with elements that are infinitesimally small. The techniques that are available to measure and manipulate these tiny particles of matter will be used to support additional research on Fe8. Researchers are hoping that these newer medical imaging contrast media will be able to be manipulated for even bigger benefit than this original research suggests. For instance, researchers are seeking ways to "turn on" and "turn off" the medical imaging contrast qualities by creating contrast media that binds only to certain other molecules or binds just when subject to certain conditions that can be monitored and managed.
Although this breakthrough in contrast media for medical imaging is enormously promising and may well provide a great leap forward in the quality of magnetic resonance imaging, there's still a great deal of testing and research to be accomplished before Fe8 can be made available for use in human population studies.
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