Getting down to details: Scientist builds imager that identifies, locates individual cancer cells
September 28, 2009Dave Wilson was dissatisfied with blurry, low-sensitivity optical images of diseased tissues. So, four years ago he set out to create a better imager.
Now, Wilson, a professor of biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University, can identify a single cancer cell in preclinical imaging studies. And he can pinpoint exactly where the cell is located in a three-dimensional image.
Called cryo-imaging, the system enables Wilson and collaborators to identify single molecules, count the number of cells in an organ, compare a normal heart to an abnormal heart and more. The incredibly detailed images can show the effectiveness of different drug therapies, gene therapies and cellular therapies in preclinical testing, Wilson said.
The cryo-imaging system literally disassembles real tissue layer by layer then reassembles the details into a cyber model.
"You can't meet this resolution from outside the body," Wilson said.
In a paper published in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering, Wilson and co-authors describe cryo-imaging and the extensive software they wrote to enable them to zero in on single cells.
The images are in color, which provides more detail than the gray scale used in other devices, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging, he said.
In this specific model, the software assembled images of the internal organs, showing the location of individual metastatic cancer cells in the adrenal gland.
If you're only interested in the central nervous system, the vascular system or something less than a complete specimen, the imager has the capability of giving you exactly what you want, Wilson said. As the computer assembles the images, it sends text message updates to researchers.
James Basilion, an associate professor of radiology and biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve, did not work on Wilson's imager but has seen the results.
"This device provides superb resolution and sensitivity to identify fluorogenic compounds or cells virtually anywhere within a specimen," Basilion said. "No longer do we need to 'guess' which cells are taking up agents from radiological biodistribution studies. We now can visualize them."
Wilson launched his research with a Third Frontier grant from the state of Ohio. As he made progress, he was funded with about $1.5 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health. He has founded a start-up company, called BioInVision Inc., in Mayfield Village, Ohio, to commercialize the imaging system.
-
Novel system developed to turn data into real-time, interactive 3-D images
May 03, 2007 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Gene that magnetically labels cells shows potential as imaging tool
Jun 03, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Device zeroes in on small breast tumors
Jan 28, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Researcher Finds Early Photon Imaging Detects Lung Cancer
Dec 08, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Scientists increase imaging efficiency in cell structure studies
Sep 03, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (33) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (4) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
-
Is Everyday Technology Killing Us?
Feb 08, 2012
-
Exercise and weight loss
Feb 08, 2012
-
Why do we have head aches? Our brains can't feel anything.
Feb 07, 2012
-
"The end of diseases" by David Agus, interview from Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Feb 04, 2012
-
Oncolytic adenovirus
Feb 04, 2012
-
Nutrition label stuffs and diets
Feb 02, 2012
- More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences
More news stories
Starve a virus, feed a cure? Findings show how some cells protect themselves against HIV
A protein that protects some of our immune cells from the most common and virulent form of HIV works by starving the virus of the molecular building blocks that it needs to replicate, according to research published online ...
13 hours ago |
5 / 5 (3) |
0
|
Overeating may double risk of memory loss
New research suggests that consuming between 2,100 and 6,000 calories per day may double the risk of memory loss, or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), among people age 70 and older. The study was released today and will be ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
10 hours ago |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
|
Declining health-care productivity in England: Who says so?
Reports that the National Health Service in England has been declining in productivity in the last decade appear to have been accepted as fact. However, a Viewpoint published Online First by The Lancet disputes this. The Vi ...
8 hours ago |
1 / 5 (1) |
1
Injured boomers beware: Know when to see doctor
(AP) -- It happened to nurse Jane Byron years after an in-line skating fall, business owner Haralee Weintraub while doing "men's" push-ups, and avid cyclist Gene Wilberg while lifting a heavy box.
15 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
FDA-approved drug rapidly clears amyloid from the brain, reverses Alzheimer's symptoms in mice
Neuroscientists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have made a dramatic breakthrough in their efforts to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. The researchers' findings, published in the journal Science, show t ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Feb 09, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (58) |
17
|
Scientists discover molecular secrets of 2,000-year-old Chinese herbal remedy
For roughly two thousand years, Chinese herbalists have treated Malaria using a root extract, commonly known as Chang Shan, from a type of hydrangea that grows in Tibet and Nepal. More recent studies suggest that halofuginone, ...
New method to examine batteries -- MRI from the inside
There is an ever-increasing need for advanced batteries for portable electronics, such as phones, cameras, and music players, but also to power electric vehicles and to facilitate the distribution and storage of energy derived ...
Google might launch Drive for cloud storage soon
(PhysOrg.com) -- Google's next big move, according to the Wall Street Journal, is a cloud storage service called Drive. Hardly first to the plate, Google is simply catching up to introducing its cloud reposi ...
A mitosis mystery solved: How chromosomes align perfectly in a dividing cell
Although the process of mitotic cell division has been studied intensely for more than 50 years, Whitehead Institute researchers have only now solved the mystery of how cells correctly align their chromosomes during symmetric ...
Lab study raises questions over nano-particle impact
Tests involving chickens have raised questions about the impact on health from engineered nano-particles, the ultra-fine grains commonly used in drugs and processed foods, scientists said on Sunday.
Researchers find extensive RNA editing in human transcriptome
In a new study published online in Nature Biotechnology, researchers from BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, reported the evidence of extensive RNA editing in a human cell line by analysis of RNA-seq data, demons ...