NON-INVASIVE BORON IMAGING IN HUMAN BRAIN WITH MRI

BORON NEUTRON CAPTURE THERAPY (BNCT) OPTIMIZATION REQUIRES KNOWLEDGE OF TUMOR-BORON UPTAKE AND ELIMINATION KINETICS AND CONCENTRATIONS. AT PRESENT, THIS KNOWLEDGE IS OBTAINED THROUGH INVASIVE METHODS. THROUGH A NONINVASIVE METHOD, MULTIPLE DATA POINTS CAN BE OBTAINED OVER TIME WITHOUT DISTURBING THE BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT. INITIAL STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI) CAN BE USED AS A NONINVASIVE TOOL TO DETERMINE BORON CONCENTRATION AS A FUNCTION OF TIME AND LOCATION. WE WILL DEVELOP A NEW NONINVASIVE TECHNIQUE USING BORON MRI FOR THE PURPOSE OF IMPROVING THE RESEARCHER'S ABILITY TO CONDUCT BORON PHARMACOKINETIC STUDIES.