ACR Members Help Develop New MRI Scan
Several ACR members were among a team of researchers who developed a new MR imaging technique that can help evaluate the likelihood of shrinking brain tumors, according to a University of Michigan Health System press release.
The new technique, referred to as a functional diffusion map, uses an MR scan to track the diffusion of water through a patient's brain and map the changes in diffusion from the start of therapy to three weeks later. By measuring the flow of water molecules through the brain, doctors can evaluate the chances of a patient's tumor shrinking early in the treatment process, thereby possibly preventing patients from receiving weeks of treatment that may not be effective and allowing physicians the chance to consider other therapies at an earlier stage.
According to the article, the University of Michigan researchers "were able to predict with 100% accuracy after only 3 weeks of treatment whether the therapy would be effective—10 weeks before traditional methods would show a response." Researchers say they plan to evaluate the technique's effectiveness with breast and head and neck cancer patients.
ACR members who participated in the study were: Theodore S. Lawrence, MD, PhD; Qian Dong, MD; Suresh K. Mukherji, MD; and Douglas J. Quint, MD.
Click here to read the U-M Health System press release.