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New microchip technology for medical imaging biomarkers of disease
December 16, 2005A collaboration between scientists at UCLA, Caltech, Stanford, Siemens and Fluidigm have developed a new technology using integrated microfluidics chips for simplifying, lowering the cost and diversifying the types of molecules used to image the biology of disease with the medical imaging technology, Positron Emission Tomography (PET). These molecules are used with PET to diagnostically search throughout the body to look for (image) the molecular errors of disease and to guide the development of new molecular therapeutics.
PET is a new generation of medical imaging for examining the biology of disease that has been shown to dramatically improve the detection of cancer, stage the extent of cancer throughout the body, detect recurrence of cancer and to help select the right therapy for individual patients.
In Alzheimer's disease, PET has been shown to have a 93% accuracy in detecting Alzheimer's about three years before the conventional diagnosis of "Probable Alzheimer's", when integrated into the clinical workup of patients. In addition, PET has been shown to detect Alzheimer's and other neurological disease years before even symptoms are expressed. PET is also employed to determine which patients with cardiovascular disease will benefit from bypass surgery and angioplasty.
These and other clinical uses of PET employ a labeled version of the sugar glucose, called Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). Glucose is a critical fuel for cells throughout the body to perform their normal functions. For example, 95% of the energy for the brain to function comes from glucose. In addition, cancer cells increase their metabolism of glucose about 25 fold. There were about three million clinical PET studies performed in clinical services throughout the world in 2005.
Published this week in the journal Science, scientists demonstrated a new technology of a programmable chip that can dramatically accelerate the development of many new molecular imaging molecules for PET. As a proof of principle, this group of academic and commercial scientists demonstrated that FDG could be synthesized on a "stamp-size" chip. These chips have a design similar to integrated electronic circuits, except they are made up of fluid channels, chambers and values (switches) that can carry out many chemical operations to synthesize and label molecules for PET imaging. All the operations of the chip are controlled and executed by a PC.
FDG was produced on the chip and used to image glucose metabolism in a mouse with a specially designed PET scanner for mice produced by Siemens, called a microPET. The Science paper also illustrated that this technology can also produce the amount of FDG required for human studies. More importantly, the paper illustrates a new base technology for producing and delivering a diverse array of molecular imaging molecules and labeled drugs for use with PET to examine the biology of many diseases for molecular diagnostics and to guide the development of new molecular therapeutics (drugs).
"Chemists synthesize molecules in a lab by mixing chemicals in beakers and repeating experiments many times, but one day soon they'll sit at a PC and carry out chemical synthesis with the digital control, speed and flexibility of today's world of electronics using a tiny integrated microfluidic chip," said Hsian-Rong Tseng, Ph.D, assistant professor of molecular and medical pharmacology, Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
There is a vast distribution of manufacturing sites throughout the world producing PET molecular imaging molecules for hospitals, universities and pharmaceutical companies. The goal is to integrate these new chips into a small control device operated by a PC that will be commercially produced. Then to ship chips to users so they can produce whatever molecules they choose for molecular imaging with PET. These chips will be an enabling technology to fuel growth in the number and diversity of imaging molecules and applications of PET in biology and pharmaceutical research and in the care of patients.
University of California-Los Angeles
These and other clinical uses of PET employ a labeled version of the sugar glucose, called Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). Glucose is a critical fuel for cells throughout the body to perform their normal functions. For example, 95% of the energy for the brain to function comes from glucose. In addition, cancer cells increase their metabolism of glucose about 25 fold. There were about three million clinical PET studies performed in clinical services throughout the world in 2005.
Published this week in the journal Science, scientists demonstrated a new technology of a programmable chip that can dramatically accelerate the development of many new molecular imaging molecules for PET. As a proof of principle, this group of academic and commercial scientists demonstrated that FDG could be synthesized on a "stamp-size" chip. These chips have a design similar to integrated electronic circuits, except they are made up of fluid channels, chambers and values (switches) that can carry out many chemical operations to synthesize and label molecules for PET imaging. All the operations of the chip are controlled and executed by a PC.
FDG was produced on the chip and used to image glucose metabolism in a mouse with a specially designed PET scanner for mice produced by Siemens, called a microPET. The Science paper also illustrated that this technology can also produce the amount of FDG required for human studies. More importantly, the paper illustrates a new base technology for producing and delivering a diverse array of molecular imaging molecules and labeled drugs for use with PET to examine the biology of many diseases for molecular diagnostics and to guide the development of new molecular therapeutics (drugs).
"Chemists synthesize molecules in a lab by mixing chemicals in beakers and repeating experiments many times, but one day soon they'll sit at a PC and carry out chemical synthesis with the digital control, speed and flexibility of today's world of electronics using a tiny integrated microfluidic chip," said Hsian-Rong Tseng, Ph.D, assistant professor of molecular and medical pharmacology, Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
There is a vast distribution of manufacturing sites throughout the world producing PET molecular imaging molecules for hospitals, universities and pharmaceutical companies. The goal is to integrate these new chips into a small control device operated by a PC that will be commercially produced. Then to ship chips to users so they can produce whatever molecules they choose for molecular imaging with PET. These chips will be an enabling technology to fuel growth in the number and diversity of imaging molecules and applications of PET in biology and pharmaceutical research and in the care of patients.
University of California-Los Angeles
Molecular Imaging Current Events and Molecular Imaging News RSSBreakthrough reveals blood vessel cells are key to growing unlimited amounts of adult stem cells
In a leap toward making stem cell therapy widely available, researchers at the Ansary Stem Cell Institute at Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered that endothelial cells, the most basic building blocks of the vascular system, produce growth factors that can grow copious amounts of adult stem cells and their progeny over the course of weeks.
Researchers discover new way to kill pediatric brain tumors
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown once again that "ready, fire, aim," nonsensical though it may sound, can be an essential approach to research.
SNM's nanomedicine summit advances molecular imaging
SNM's Nanomedicine and Molecular Imaging Summit wrapped up today in Albuquerque, N.M., with in-depth discussion-and a high sense of energy looking ahead.
Copper-Free Click Chemistry Used in Mice
For the first time, the widely used molecular synthesis technique known as click chemistry has been safely applied to a living organism.
Tracking new cancer-killing particles with MRI
Researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) have created a single nanoparticle that can be tracked in real time with MRI as it homes in on cancer cells, tags them with a fluorescent dye and kills them with heat.
UCLA researchers create 'fly paper' to capture circulating cancer cells
Just as fly paper captures insects, an innovative new device with nano-sized features developed by researchers at UCLA is able to grab cancer cells in the blood that have broken off from a tumor.
PET imaging response a prognostic factor after thoracic radiation therapy for lung cancer
A rapid decline in metabolic activity on a PET scan after radiation therapy for non-small cell lung cancer is correlated with good local tumor control, according to a study presented by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital at the 51st ASTRO Annual Meeting.
Bioluminescence imaging used for eye cancer detection
At the moment, doctors rely on biopsy analysis to determine the progression of eye cancer. However, researchers now believe that a new technology, bioluminescence imaging (BLI), will allow doctors to detect tumors earlier and quickly choose a method of treatment that doesn't necessarily involve eye surgery.
Hyper-SAGE boosts remote MRI sensitivity
A new technique in Magnetic Resonance Imaging dubbed "Hyper-SAGE" has the potential to detect ultra low concentrations of clincal targets, such as lung and other cancers.
Molecular imaging holds promise for early intervention in common uterine cancer
A promising new molecular imaging technique may provide physicians and patients with a noninvasive way to learn more information about a type of cancer of the uterus lining called "endometrial carcinoma"-one of the most common malignant female tumors.
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