An MRI scanner is a device in which the patient lies within a large, powerful magnet where the magnetic field is used to align the magnetization of some atomic nuclei in the body, and radio frequency magnetic fields are applied to systematically alter the alignment of this magnetization.[1] This causes the nuclei to produce a rotating magnetic field detectable by the scanner—and this information is recorded to construct an image of the scanned area of the body.[2]:36 Magnetic field gradients cause nuclei at different locations to precess at different speeds, which allows spatial information to be recovered using Fourier analysis of the measured signal. By using gradients in different directions, 2D images or 3D volumes can be obtained in any arbitrary orientation.
Certain type of sugars are absorbed by the cancer cells more than the healthy cells.
In MRI the area lights up.
If put into practice, this process could be completed in a local hospital rather than refereed to Specialty Hospitals.
Story:
The new technique, called ‘glucose chemical exchange saturation transfer’ (glucoCEST), is based on the fact that tumours consume much more glucose (a type of sugar) than normal, healthy tissues in order to sustain their growth.
The researchers found that sensitising an MRI scanner to glucose uptake caused tumours to appear as bright images on MRI scans of mice.
Lead researcher Dr Simon Walker-Samuel, from the UCL Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging (CABI) said: “GlucoCEST uses radio waves to magnetically label glucose in the body. This can then be detected in tumours using conventional MRI techniques. The method uses an injection of normal sugar and could offer a cheap, safe alternative to existing methods for detecting tumours, which require the injection of radioactive material.”
Professor Mark Lythgoe, Director of CABI and a senior author on the study, said: “We can detect cancer using the same sugar content found in half a standard sized chocolate bar. Our research reveals a useful and cost-effective method for imaging cancers using MRI — a standard imaging technology available in many large hospitals.”
He continued: “In the future, patients could potentially be scanned in local hospitals, rather than being referred to specialist medical centres.”
The study is published in the journal Nature Medicine and trials are now underway to detect glucose in human cancers.
Source:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130707162759.htm
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Journal Reference:
- Simon Walker-Samuel, Rajiv Ramasawmy, Francisco Torrealdea, Marilena Rega, Vineeth Rajkumar, S Peter Johnson, Simon Richardson, Miguel Gonçalves, Harold G Parkes, Erik Årstad, David L Thomas, R Barbara Pedley, Mark F Lythgoe, Xavier Golay. In vivo imaging of glucose uptake and metabolism in tumors. Nature Medicine, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nm.3252
MLA
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
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