Fe8 will Create Better Magnetic Resonance Images - By: Jesse Fisher

An extremely important medical imaging development in detecting diseases is magnetic resonance imaging. This relies on the injection of contrast material to show specific tissue or to differentiate between healthy and diseased tissue. The materials that are used in this procedure are inclined to have the drawback of being either simply constructed and stable in the body but offering low contrast OR very complex in construction and offering sharper contrast but with less stability when injected.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has been collaborating with researchers at Florida State University and the University of Colorado at Boulder to create new medical imaging contrast materials that are highly magnetic, unvarying (and thereby easier to manage) and tiny. This combination of qualities will make a harmless, predictable, extremely effective contract solution to be used in medical imaging.

Florida State University researcher Naresh Dalal and additional researchers have developed a magnetic molecule identified as Fe8. Fe8 contains all of the ideal attributes. This single molecule magnet has eight ion bonds, is water-soluble and non-toxic.

As of late published articles describe testing completed on the molecule which shows that Fe8 provides good contrast in non-clinical MRI studies dispelling aformer confusion about the value of Fe8 in medical imaging. The research had resulted in conflicting results because the concentration of Fe8 had not been accounted for during testing.

These developments are partly due to advances in the field of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology involves working with particles that are infinitesimally small. The methods that measure and manipulate these small particles of matter will support further research on Fe8. Researchers are hoping that these newer medical imaging contrast media will be able to be manipulated for even greater benefit than this initial research suggests. For instance, researchers are looking for ways to turn on and turn off the contrast qualities by creating contrast media that attaches only to specific other molecules or does so just when subject to certain conditions that can be observed and managed.

Although this breakthrough in contrast media for medical imaging is enormously promising and may well supply a large leap forward in the quality of magnetic resonance imaging, there's still a great deal of testing and research to take place before Fe8 can be made accessable for use in medical imaging.

About the Author

Author Jesse Fisher likes composing articles for his customers which includes Transamerican Medical, a company that buys and sells Philips Medical equipment and parts. See also Imaging Centers online directory.

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

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