UCSF, Stanford and GE collaborate in the development of a new advanced MRI machine

The University of California San Francisco has partnered with General Electric Company to develop new technology that will track real-time changes in tissue metabolism to help oncologists determine the stage of disease, and if treatment is working.

The research is focused on developing extremely powerful magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy techniques. An MRI provides limited information about the disease cycle, often not detecting a problem until the cancer has progressed.

The new powerful MRI will be 10, 000 fold stronger than what’s on the market, and it will provide images that identifies a broader scope of the disease, said Sara Nelson, professor of radiology and director of the Surbek laboratory of Advanced Imaging at UCSF.

“The high field MR scanners will significantly improve sensitivity and specificity, allowing us to more effectively target therapy and provide non-invasive biomarkers of response to new therapies,” Nelson said.

Pre-clinical and clinical studies are being done at the California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research at UCSF’s Mission Bay campus. Scientists were able to use the technology to closely track the progression of prostate cancer in a mouse model. “We know the physics works, now we can explore preclinical animal models,” Nelson said.

The technology will track real-time changes in tissue metabolism with unprecedented sensitivity. This technology is intended to aid in four major stages of disease identification and treatment, including prediction, screening, diagnosis and treatment. The goal is to use the technology to change and improve the way a variety of cancers and other diseases are treated, Nelson said.

The technology may not be available for commercial use for a decade, said Jonathan Murray, general manager of cross business programs at GE Healthcare. If the technology reaches the commercial market, existing MRIs can be modified to accommodate the advanced technology, he said.

UCSF and GE have been in collaboration on a variety of imaging projects during the last 10 years. “We are developing a number of metabolic imaging techniques,” Nelson said. Many of the projects are funded by National Institutes of Health.

UCSF has been working to bring together biological, chemical and engineering disciplines to create advanced medical technologies. GE has been doing the same, so it was a natural fit to collaborate, said Murray.

Researchers in engineering at Stanford University also are working on the project with UCSF and GE scientists.


—By Troy May

Posted on December 4, 2006 06:03 AM