A natural alternative to MRI agents?

| | Health Imaging | Screening

Despite the prevalence of MRI in clinical practice, it still has one weakness: low sensitivity. This issue is usually combatted with agents injected into patients to achieve high spatial and temporal resolution. A team of École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne researchers has discovered a natural compound that produces the same high resolution in contrast enhanced MRI, according to Science Daily’s “A Natural Boost for MRI Scans,” published Oct. 21 online.

The research team, led by Arnaud Comment, developed a solution using pyruvic acid, an organic chemical that naturally occurs in the body due to glucose breakdown. It produces the same high-quality resolution as the contrast agents that are made with highly reactive chemicals.

This discovery could cut down on both the time and cost of contrast-enhanced MRI protocols, thereby improving the overall quality of scans and diagnoses.

A Natural Boost for MRI Scans

Related Content

Routine abdominal CTs offer insight into cardiovascular risk
Screening efforts have helped avert millions of cancer-related deaths in recent decades
What breast density status can tell us about cardiovascular risk
FDA clears AI tool that flags signs of heart disease in chest CT scans
Patients without PCPs struggle to access lung cancer screening, despite eligibility
Breast cancer rates among women in their 30s are on the rise

Around the web

Radiology Business
The biggest obstacles facing radiology business managers in 2025

RBMA President Peter Moffatt discusses declining reimbursement rates, recruiting challenges and the role of artificial intelligence in transforming the industry.

Cardiovascular Business
New cardiac prevention paradigm explored in TRANSFORM trial using AI and CCTA

Deepak Bhatt, MD, director of the Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital and principal investigator of the TRANSFORM trial, explains an emerging technique for cardiac screening: combining coronary CT angiography with artificial intelligence for plaque analysis to create an approach similar to mammography.

Cardiovascular Business
Cardiology practices pay $17.7M to settle fraud allegations brought on by whistleblowers

A total of 16 cardiology practices from 12 states settled with the DOJ to resolve allegations they overbilled Medicare for imaging agents used to diagnose cardiovascular disease.