Development of Novel RF Coils for Hyperpolarized Magnetic Resonance Imaging

许多人类疾病与身体将我们所吃的燃料(例如糖和脂肪)转化为生长、运动和修复所需的能量的方式变化有关，这些过程我们统称为“新陈代谢”。因此，新陈代谢评估提供了了解疾病机制的重要途径，也提供了评估不同药物和药物反应的手段。然而，我们用来研究体内代谢的工具是有限的，需要新的方法。我们最近的工作集中在开发一种新的体内代谢测量方法，称为超极化磁共振成像(HP-MRI)。这种方法使磁共振成像(MRI)的灵敏度提高了10,000倍，以检测和监测体内燃料的摄取和利用。HP-MRI需要在超极化系统中产生13C标记的示踪剂，该系统在非常低的温度(~1K)和很强的磁场(&gt；3T)下运行。在快速溶解步骤之后，可以注射超极化示踪剂，并使用磁共振成像无创地跟踪其在体内的摄取和利用。生产的代谢探针没有放射性(因为13C是稳定的同位素)，由自然产生的生理化合物制成，使它们变得安全，适合重复注射，以监测疾病进展或治疗后的新陈代谢变化。要读出超极化探测器发出的信号，需要针对感兴趣的器官(例如心脏、肝脏、肾脏)优化特定的射频(RF)线圈，以最大化可记录的信号，并确保良好的图像质量。该项目与总部位于英国的射频线圈设计公司PulseTeq Ltd合作，旨在开发专门用于HP-MRI的新型射频线圈，以实现这一新兴医学成像技术的快速临床转换。标准MRI扫描仪，因此RF线圈设计，专注于检测来自体内水分子中1H核的信号。为了使射频线圈适合于HP-MRI，它们需要专门调谐到13C原子核发射的频率。该项目的目标是开发这样的射频线圈，优化它们，使其能够灵敏地检测来自人体不同器官的信号。

Many human diseases are associated with changes in the way the body turns the fuels we eat (e.g. sugars and fats) into the energy needed for growth, movement and repair, processes we collectively call 'metabolism'. As such, assessment of metabolism provides a vital way to understand the mechanisms of disease, as well as providing a means to assess the response to different drugs and medicines. However, the tools that we have to study metabolism in vivo are limited and new methods are required. Our recent work has focussed on the development of a novel in vivo approach for the measurement of metabolism, called Hyperpolarized Magnetic Resonance Imaging (HP-MRI). This is an approach that allows >10,000-fold increases in the sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect and monitor the uptake and utilisation of fuels in vivo. HP-MRI requires the generation of 13C-labelled tracers in a hyperpolarizer system which operates at very low temperatures (~1K) and high magnetic fields (>3T). Following a rapid dissolution step, the hyperpolarized tracer can be injected and its in vivo uptake and utilisation followed non-invasively using magnetic resonance imaging. The metabolic probes produced are not radioactive (as 13C is a stable isotope) and are made from naturally occurring, physiological compounds making them safe and suitable for repeat injections to monitor changes in metabolism as a disease progresses or following treatment.To read out the signals that are emitted by the hyperpolarized probes requires specific radiofrequency (RF) coils which need to be optimised for the organ of interest (e.g. heart, liver, kidney) to maximise the signal that can be recorded and to ensure good image quality. In partnership with PulseTeq Ltd, a UK based RF coil design company, this project aims to develop novel RF coils specifically for HP-MRI to allow rapid clinical translation of this emerging medical imaging technology.Standard MRI scanners, and therefore RF coil designs, are focussed on detecting the signal from the 1H nuclei within the water molecules inside the body. To make RF coils suitable for HP-MRI, they need to be specifically tuned to the frequencies emitted by 13C nuclei. This project will aim to develop such RF coils, optimising them for the sensitive detection of signals from different organs of the human body.