DIAGNOSTIC RADIOLOGY METHOD DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH

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The long term goals of the Program are to develop new diagnostic methodologies and to apply them to clinical diagnostic radiology. A major portion of the proposal is dedicated to NMR imaging, where new questions and research opportunities are opening up at a fast pace as new hardware comes on line and new results become available. Photon radiation detection technologies are also explored, in the all important "front end" technology. A new project explores means of visually integrating the information produced by the rapidly advancing field of diagnostic imaging. Specifically, an integrated approach to NMR imaging extends to humans protocols of tissue characterization in rats, to corroborate findings and provide a data base with which to optimize the technique and later initiate clinical efficacy studies. We also propose to study the practical question of dependence of NMR imaging on magnetic field strength and the scientific question of NMR's ability to image endogenous elements other than hydrogen. A third proposal explores the use of NMR in characterizing blood flow in the capillary bed. Various techniques have demonstrated feasibility, and this project explores them in terms of practicality and validity of results. The study of potential hazards is also proposed. Although we expect NMR to be of a benign nature, a practical approach towards answering questions regarding hazards has to be implemented. The information thus produced will increase the confidence with which NMR can be brought into clinical practice. The other two projects proposed here derive from existing grant-funded activities and represent an investment in technologies that have proven fruitful and which will lead to productive continuation in future applications. The first of these deals with the practical problems encountered in the fabrication of germanium detectors for imaging devices. Solving these problems will open up the way for vastly improved nuclear medicine imaging possibilities, and will also permit exploration of application of these devices in other diagnostic areas. The second of these projects explores the integration of novel and varied information in common display formats, hoping to maximize the confidence with which the information from varied modalities is integrated by the physician.