C12084: MRI Thermal Imaging
Novelty:
This technology is a novel, non-invasive procedure for temperature mapping of tissues regardless of fat content.
Value Proposition:
The use of hyperthermia devices and treatments is becoming increasingly popular for the purpose of treating cancer without radiation, chemotherapy drugs, or invasive surgery. These technologies depend highly on the ability to monitor and regulate patient temperature in the tissue to assure therapy is being properly applied. Temperature sensors, while accurate and small, only offer a single-point measurement of temperature, which is insufficient when whole volumes must be inspected. Multiple techniques are emerging to use MRI technology to provide thermal maps of a patient during therapy. However, these methods are often complicated when tissue contains a significant amount of fat. This new technology provides a means of performing MRI thermal mapping of tissues, including those containing varying amounts of fat. Other advantages of this technology include:
• Does not require prior knowledge of target tissue’s fat composition
• Able to map absolute temperature with high spatial resolution
• Works with existing MRI systems.
Technical Details:
Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a novel method to perform thermal mapping on tissue through temperature-responsive water saturation shift (T-WASSR) MRI. The method uses a non-invasive technique to determine the temperature-driven changes in resonance frequency in water molecules. Additionally, this procedure estimates the fat resonance frequency, eliminating the need for a priori knowledge of the tissue’s fat content. The ability to work with fatty tissues expands the reach of this kind of imaging to new regions of the body, and will significantly improve visualization for hyperthermia therapies.
Looking for Partners:
To develop and commercialize the technology as a new feature in the MRI Scanner Market
Stage of Development:
Prototype
Data Availability:
Method verified for both in vitro samples and in animal models.
Patent Status: Pending US Application US-2015-0247908
