Published in MPW, 25 Apr 2016
Scientists in the UK and Germany have shown that calibrating magnetic particle imaging using “immobilized” magnetic nanoparticles generates superior imaging quality, with twice the sensitivity for monitoring stem cells. The development bodes well for bringing the technique to clinical application, the scientists say (Phys. Med. Biol. 61 3279).
Stem cells are cells that can keep multiplying without differentiating into specialist types of cell. By encouraging clusters of stem cells to specialize into certain cell types, and then implanting them into the human body, scientists can speed up tissue repair or even replace damaged tissue, without the need for organ transplants. But at present, stem cell therapy can have serious side effects, and one of the aspects scientists could improve on is tracking the cells’ movement in the body. “Stem cell monitoring is important for basic research in biomedicine,” says medical physicist Kolja Them, at the University Medical Centre Hamburg–Eppendorf (UKE). […]
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