Development of Novel RF Coils for Hyperpolarized Magnetic Resonance Imaging

许多人类疾病都与身体将我们吃的燃料（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，我们统称为“代谢”。因此，代谢评估提供了一种了解疾病机制的重要方法，并提供了一种评估对不同药物和药物反应的方法。然而，我们在体内研究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方法来测量代谢，称为超极化磁共振成像（HP-MRI）。这是一种允许磁共振成像（MRI）的灵敏度增加> 10，000倍的方法，以检测和监测体内燃料的摄取和利用。HP-MRI需要在超极化器系统中产生13 C标记的示踪剂，该系统在非常低的温度（~ 1 K）和高磁场（> 3 T）下工作。在快速溶解步骤之后，可以注射超极化示踪剂，并且使用磁共振成像非侵入性地跟踪其体内摄取和利用。产生的代谢探针没有放射性（因为13 C是稳定同位素），并且由天然存在的，为了读出超极化探针发出的信号，需要特定的射频（RF）线圈，该线圈需要针对感兴趣的器官进行优化（例如心脏、肝脏、肾脏）以最大化可记录的信号并确保良好的图像质量。该项目与英国RF线圈设计公司PulseTeq Ltd合作，旨在开发专门用于HP-MRI的新型RF线圈，以快速将这一新兴医学成像技术应用于临床。标准MRI扫描仪和RF线圈设计专注于检测体内水分子中1H核的信号。为了使RF线圈适用于HP-MRI，它们需要专门调谐到13 C核发射的频率。该项目旨在开发这种RF线圈，优化它们，以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.