The New Scanners That Can Really Get Inside Your Head
By THE GUARDIAN, November 12, 2016
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This post has been viewed 2,605 times.
The University of Cambridge’s Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre is unveiling some of the most advanced brain imaging technology in the world. Among the scanners are (1) a Siemens 7T Terra MRI scanner, (2) a GE Healthcare PET/MR scanner, and (3) a hyperpolarizer. The MRI scanner allows researchers to see details as tiny as a grain a sand. “The outer layer of the brain, the cortex, is about 3-4mm thick. That is the grey matter that provides us with our thoughts. Current scanners show it as a single strip. The new 7T device will allow us to differentiate the cortex so we will be able to see its different structures and allow us to understand how they interact. We are going to learn how the brain work sas a network.” By contrast, the PET/MR scanner will allow scientists not only to study structural alterations in the brain but to map chemical changes that go with them. “This should enable researchers to diagnose dementia before any symptoms have arisen and to understand which treatments may best halt or slow the disease,” says Professor Fiona Gilbert, who will lead the work on the PET/MR scanner. The third new imaging device, the hyperpolarizer, is already in operation and is allowing scientists to make highly sensitive real-time measurements of bodily processes. Not all patients suffering from a particular cancer respond in the same way to treatment because of the underlying differences in the genetics of their tumor. “However, if you sequence the DNA in the tumor, you can select drugs that might work for that individual,” explains Professor Kevin Brindle.“Using hyperpolarization and MRI, we then hope to be able to tell whether that drug is working – within a few hours of starting treatment. If it’s working, you continue, if not, you change the treatment.” (October 23, 2016). tinyurl.com/z63gx79
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