Advances in Medical Imaging- Fe8 - By: Jesse Fisher

Magnetic resonance imaging, one of the most important medical imaging advances in disease detection, is dependent on the injection of contrast material to show specific tissue or to differentiate between healthy and diseased tissue. The materials used in this procedure tend to have the drawback of being either simply constructed and stable within the body but offering low contrast OR very complex in construction and offering sharper contrast but with not as much 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 extremely magnetic, highly uniform (and thereby easier to manage) and tiny. This combination of qualities will work together to produce a very safe, predictable, highly effective contract solution that can be used in medical imaging.

Naresh Dalal (a Florida State University researcher) and other researchers have created a magnetic molecule identified as "Fe8" encompasses all of the desirable traits. This molecule magnet has eight ion bonds, is water-soluble and non-toxic.

Newly published articles describe testing completed on the molecule which shows that Fe8 offers excellent contrast in non-clinical MRI studies dismissing an earlier confusion regarding the value of Fe8 in medical imaging. The earlier research had conflicting results because the concentration of Fe8 had not been taken into account in the course of testing.

These advances are, to some extent, due to advances in nanotechnology. Nanotechnologists work with elements that are infinitesimally small. The procedures that measure and manipulate such tiny particles will support further research on materials such as Fe8. Researchers are counting on this new contrast media to have the ability to be manipulated for even greater benefit than this first research suggests. For example, researchers are seeking ways to "turn on" and "turn off" the contrast qualities by producing contrast media that attaches only to certain molecules or binds only when subject to specific conditions that can be monitored and managed.

Regardless of the fact that this breakthrough in contrast media for medical imaging is tremendously promising and may provide a large leap forward in the quality of magnetic resonance imaging, there's still a great deal of testing and research that must be accomplished before Fe8 can be made available for use in medical imaging.

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About the Author

Author Jesse Fisher enjoys writing articles for his customers which includes Transamerican Medical, a company that resells Philips Medical equipment and parts. See also Medical Imaging Centers online directory.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Jesse-Fisher/48874

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