Combined Optical and MR Microscopy System for Thin Tissue Histopathology Analysis

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant The long term objective of the proposed project is to develop a new approach for Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy MRI MRS microscopy contact scanning of thin tissue sections with a dimensional array of micro coils in precise analogy to conventional histopathology of thin sections with optical microscopy Unlike routine MRI where the spatial encoding of the images is done with magnetic gradient fields in the current proposal the encoding will be done by the spatial distribution of the D array of microcoils the depth dimension will be eliminated by using micron sections The proposed technology has the potential to add new tool for pathology analysis of tumor biopsies High resolution MRI MRS of thin tissue sections may provide additional information on tumor characteristics as learned from clinical MRS studies better differentiation between malignant and benign lesions additional prognostic information e g tumor aggressiveness and monitoring the effect of treatment in follow up biopsies The specific aims of the proposed project are To develop a low scale D array of microcoils and the associated signal conditioning electronics To test the microcoil array in MRI scanner to demonstrate the feasibility of contact MRI MRS of thin histopathology tissue section To achieve the specific aims we plan to design and manufacture a high resolution printed circuit board PCB with a dimensional array of microcoils that will provide the spatial encoding for microscopy MRI of the tissue section Alignment of the PCB and the tissue section will be done with a customized XY stage guided by microscopy view of the andquot sandwichedandquot tissue section and PCB MRI scanning will be done in commercial high field scanners The MR signals induced in the microcoils will be acquired into the scanner for image construction The regions for MRS spectra determination will be defined over the microscopic view of the registered tissue section and PCB MRS spectra for each region will be calculated by summing signals from all coils enclosed in a specific region The proposed technology has the potential to be developed into a commercial MRI MRS microscope for pathology labs If the technique is found to be clinically useful the market will be substantil and will include pathology labs in any hospital that conducts interventional procedures PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE The proposed project will provide a new tool for the analysis of pathology samples that are cut from suspected lesions The tool may add important information on the characteristics of a tumor for example its level of aggressiveness and expected response to therapy This may help the oncologist to provide better medical care to the patient