Better MRI scans of cancers made possible by TU Delft

15 Jan 2009

Researcher Kristina Djanashvili has developed a substance that enables doctors to get better MRI scans of tumours. On Tuesday 13 January, Djanashvili will be awarded a doctorate by TU Delft for her work in this field.

The medical profession’s ability to trace and visualise tumours is increasing all the time. Detection and imaging techniques have improved enormously in recent years. One of the techniques that have come on by leaps and bounds is MRI. Patients who are going to have MRI scans are often injected with a ‘contrast agent’, which makes it easier to distinguish tumours from surrounding tissues. The quality of the resulting scan depends partly on the ability of this agent to ‘search out’ the tumour and induce contrast.

Better images
At TU Delft, postgraduate researcher Kristina Djanashvili has developed a new contrast agent with enhanced tumour affinity and contrast induction characteristics. In principle, this means that cancers can be picked up sooner and visualised more accurately.
The new agent is a compound incorporating a lanthanide chelate and a phenylboronate group substance. The lanthanide chelate ensures a strong, clear MRI signal, while the phenylboronate group substance ‘searches out’ cancerous tissue.

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Better MRI scans of cancers made possible by TU Delft

Overview