MRI Contrast
The Hydroxide Free Ferrite is a nanometer scale particle that functions as a blood pool contrast agent for use in improving tissue distinction in MRI scanning. It causes a "black blood" effect on T2 imaging and bright on T1 imaging. By allowing the imaging of blood as a tissue Ferrite based MR Angiography provides greatly improved speed of image acquisition, improved signal to noise, and excellent definition at points of turbulence near plaques.
The black blood effect helps distinguish small nerves from small vessels in MR Neurography. In addition it completely blacks out the marrow of bone and makes it possible to create pure joint surface images revonstructed in 3D from any angle of view - this is expected to have a major impact on general orthopedic and spine imaging.
Imaging in Nuclear Medicine is based on capturing gamma rays and photons emitted from a radionuclide that has been placed in a location of medical interest.
In standard Single Photon Emission Tomography (SPECT) each nuclear disintegration sends out a single gamma ray in any direction. Collection of thousands of rays allows a low resolution image of the source to be created.
In Positron Emission Tomography (PET), upon disintegraion of the marker nuclide, each emitted positron travels through tissue losing energy until it meets an electron an undergoes a matter-antimatter annihilation reaction. This reaction sends out two photons in exactly opposite directions.
By "coincidence detection" the PET machine can determine a line along which the annihilation took place. As it collects hundreds of these, it can precisely locate the source, potentially providing a higher resolution image. However, the annihilation takes place up to a centimeter from the site at which the isotope originally disintegrated. MSI has developed a ferrite based PET carrier in which the density of the ferrite causes the annihilation to take place closer to the disintegration, improving spatial resolution by up to ten times. These can also be prepared as long half-life PET emitters allowing several days for distribution and imaging.
An important new frontier in medical imaging is the design of targeted imaging labels that locate particular tissues or pathologies of interest. A typical agent would, for instance carry a targeting protein that locates a type of cancer attached to radioisotope emitting particle that is detectable by medical imaging.
MSI ferrites can be modified to incorporate varying concentrations of imageable emitters. These particles are coated with biopolymers and can be conjugated to targeting proteins.