Improved imaging technology promises more timely diagnosis and could be available for clinical use within three yearsThe scanner will help diagnose and treat diseases as well as determine whether certain drugs are working by watching how they travel in the body. In addition, he says, it will enable researchers to observe stem cells as they mature into different body tissues, providing new clues about their therapeutic potential.
| Researchers this week announced a new, faster way of imaging inside the body that could detect tumors more quickly and lead to earlier treatment. Scientists from the University of T�bingen in Germany report in this week’s Nature Medicine that they were able to locate and monitor tumor growth in mice with a scanner they developed that combines positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)—and said they were optimistic it could be ready to use in humans within three years. |
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“Combining PET and MRI shows anatomical changes by MRI and the functional information by PET,” says study co-author Bernd Pichler, a radiologist at T�bingen. In the case of tumors, for instance, an MRI can find one hidden in tissue, and the PET scanner can determine whether it is malignant and growing.
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