MRI and CT combine to finely image tumor blood vessels

Preclinical researchers in Denmark have combined MRI and CT to create a new way to image tracer distribution in tumors at extremely high resolution in mice. Their hope is to translate the technique to map the branching of tumor blood vessels in humans, such that tumor-busting drugs could be carefully observed in action.

The researchers published their findings in the November edition of Microvascular Research.

The news division at their institution, Aarhus University, spoke with two of the authors.

Jens Vinge Nygaard, an associate professor in the school’s engineering department, explains that the dual-modality imaging technique allows the team to “lay two images of the same cancer tumor on top of each other, so to speak, so we get a more geometrically complex understanding of the individual tumor’s blood vessels, and thereby an opportunity to very precisely study the way drugs are distributed.”

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Dave Pearson

Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.

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