A conventional MRI uses the nuclear spin of atomic nuclei that interact with radio waves in strong magnetic fields. Unlike the conventional method, however, the FMP researchers do not measure the resonance of hydrogen atoms, which are ubiquitous in the human body but only emit weak signals, but rather “hyperpolarized” xenon, which has atomic nuclei that deliver much more powerful signals. The researchers have already tested their device, and were able to use the xenon gas to produce images of specially marked living cells.

In the near future the new technology should be able provide colour images with which scientists can detect different pathological cell types or plaques.

The researchers intend to further develop the technology in order to be able to depict a tumor in three dimensions.

Source:
http://www.fmp-berlin.info/press-media/press-releases/press-releases-single-view1/article/das-mrt-der-zukunft-bildgebende-diagnostik-mit-xenon.html

The results are published in the current online edition of the journal Angewandte Chemie: Klippel, S., Döpfert, J., Jabadurai Jayapaul, J., Kunth, M., Rossella, F., Schnurr, M., Witte, C., Friend, C. & Schröder, L. (2013): Cell tracking with Caged Xenon: Using Cryptophanes as MRI. Reporter upon Cellular Internalization (Epub ahead of print) DOI: 10.1002/anie.201307290