DUESSELDORF, Germany – October 14, 2018 – At the European Association of Nuclear Medicine Congress (EANM, eanm18.eanm.org ), Bruker today announced the installation of a high-field 9.4 Tesla small animal preclinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system with integrated, in-line PET (Positron Emission Tomography) at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, Germany.
The new PET/MR system is installed in the DKFZ Division of Medical Physics in Radiology, led by Professor Mark Ladd, to explore new translational research frontiers in cancer, and to advance functional imaging for research on tumor development. The system will be used initially to examine multiple myeloma patients. Prof. Ladd and his team will investigate alternative PET tracers that are expected to be more specific for myeloma in order to provide earlier assessment of the efficacy of treatment protocols. The ultimate goal of DKFZ is to provide a more appropriate PET tracer for multiple myeloma patients, that can eventually be used clinically with a positive influence on therapy progression.
A second investigation is focused on therapies utilizing heavy ions. There is some indication that certain ions are more effective in hypoxic tumors with inadequate oxygen supply. DKFZ is looking to confirm responses to ion therapy in hypoxic tumors versus photon therapy. For this study, animals with hypoxic tumors will be examined with PET/MR before and after ion or photon therapy, in order to obtain clinical indications for the use of ion therapy.
Professor Mark Ladd, Head of Medical Physics in Radiology at DKFZ, stated: “There is a longstanding relationship between the DKFZ and Bruker. We are excited to explore the full potential of their unique PET technology that is compatible with high field MRI. The combination of information from high field MR with PET provides a unique research tool, which we hope will produce essential information to further develop clinical treatments of cancers.”
Wulf-Ingo Jung, Ph.D., the President of the Bruker Preclinical Imaging division, added: “We are pleased with the world’s first installation of an integrated, sequential PET/MR at high field, and DKFZ will use this 9.4 Tesla PET/MR for important cancer research. The unique combination of multi-parametric MRI and its excellent tissue contrast with better functional PET quantification is expected to advance the understanding of cancer therapies.”
DKFZ is a federal research center with a mission to find ways to improve cancer detection, prevention and cure. Professor Ladd is part of the Radiology and Radiation Therapy research area that has over 400 researchers.
For more information: https://www.bruker.com/products/mr/preclinical-mri
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