The magnetic resonance imaging scanner can not only detect cancerous tumors, but also target drugs to hard-to-reach places in the body, reports BBC News.
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner uses the signal emitted by the human body’s hydrogen nuclei, vibrating in a very strong magnetic field, to create an image. Even the slightest difference in the water content in the tissue translates into the difference of the emitted signal. The scanner records the energy emitted as radio waves and converts it into an image of the tissues. This allows even very small tumors to be visualized.
Dr. Munitt Muthana and her colleagues at Sheffield University used the scanner’s powerful magnetic field to control the movement of human white blood cells that are injected into the bloodstream, carrying the virus that kills cancer cells. This was possible thanks to the magnetization of cells with microscopic iron particles. It could help patients whose tumors – located in the brain, for example – are difficult or impossible to remove surgically.
The results of preliminary studies on mice with prostate cancer metastases to the lungs suggest that the new method works and has few side effects, and that the equipment already available is sufficient for its use. In the case of the mouse, the stay in the scanner lasted from half an hour to an hour. However, several years of research are needed before patients can be treated in this way.