Biomedical applications of hyperpolarized C-13 magnetic resonance imaging

摘要

Medical imaging has been driven largely by the desire to image the anatomical or structural changes that occur in disease. Although there have been great advances in the spatial resolution of traditional imaging techniques – such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) – further advances in the resolution that can be achieved in the clinic will be limited by practical considerations such as radiation dose or image acquisition time; consequently, new methods are required that will allow imaging at molecular and cellular levels. This new era of Molecular Imaging can be defined as the ‘‘visual representation, characterization and quantification of biological processes at the cellular and sub-cellular levels within intact living organisms” [1]. The biodistribution of molecular imaging probes should be more accurate and specific in diagnosing and assessing disease than the morphological information acquired using conventional imaging methods.