Position sensitive investigation of the lithium concentration in the human brain

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We propose a project to further develop and apply a new method for the ultra sensitive detection of lithium traces in human tissue for a deeper understanding of the lithium methabolism and its influence on the mental human diseases. Lithium carbonate salt has become an increasingly important sub-stance in the treatment of manic depressive disorders and lithium is used already for several decades as it is very efficient in the equilibration of mood cycles. Nonetheless there is currently no consistent detailed picture how it acts inside the human brain. In the framework of a just completed diploma the-sis we developed a new technique for position sensitive detection of lithium traces in human tissue samples on the basis of the 6Li(n,α)t reaction. Using detectors for the coincident detection of α and t in a very compact setup at the FRM II neutron source we demonstrated a significance level of 3 ppb for position sensitive (Δx < 200 μm) lithium detection in untreated organic samples. Within the proposed project we plan to improve the existing setup to achieve a factor of 30 higher sensitivity while reducing the measurement time from several hours to a few minutes. This will allow for first time to collect a high resolution map of lithium distributions in the human brain on a microscopic (200 μm) and a ma-croscopic (different functional areas) scale. All measurements will be performed in close collaboration with the Institut für Rechtsmedizin München and the Münchner Neutronenquelle FRM II.