Commercialization of a preclinical Magnetic Particle Imaging system with sub-millimeter resolution, nano-molar sensitivity, and integrated CT

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant The two dominant preclinical molecular imaging techniques optical imaging and nuclear imaging have technical limitations that hamper their use in applications requiring high resolution longitudinal tracer imaging with absolute quantitation We are developing a new molecular imaging modality Magnetic Particle Imaging MPI which does not have these limitations and is capable of nanomolar sensitivity absolute quantitation of a tracer resolution independent of depth and monitoring a stable tracer for weeks to months These capabilities make MPI complementary to existing molecular imaging techniques and give scientists a versatile new tool when imaging cancer tracking therapeutic and immune cells and imaging the cardiovascular system MPI is best compared with nuclear medicine in that both modalities andquot seeandquot only the injected tracer both modalities can andquot seeandquot right through background tissue and both modalities are translatable The MPI technique works by directly detecting the nonlinear magnetization of iron oxide tracers using low frequency magnetic fields MPIandapos s method of direct detection is exquisitely sensitive and we have already demonstrated nanomolar sensitivities in prototype systems Indeed the theoretical sensitivity limit of MPI may be as low as a single tagged cell in a voxel MPI is unrelated to Magnetic Resonance Imaging MRI and MPI scans cannot be acquired using a MRI imager This project aims to develop the first MPI system tailored for pre clinical researchers working with mouse and rat models The proposed system will be the worldandapos s highest sensitivity and highest resolution tomographic MPI scanner as well as the first MPI system with integrated CT First we will build a high strength field free line magnetic field gradient mounted to a rotating gantry o enable tomographic MPI imaging We will then integrate CT to enable acquisition of a tissue reference image Last we will test the imager on phantoms and post mortem animals PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE Magnetic Particle Imaging MPI is a new imaging modality whose unique contrast sensitivity and tracer longevity solves several limitations of current pre clinical imaging modalities Until now these limitations have slowed researchers developing treatments for diseases such as heart failure and cancer among others Here we propose to commercialize the first MPI CT imager tailored for pre clinical researchers working with mouse and rat models