Dear AuntMinnie Member,
One of the leading lights of molecular imaging research is Dr. Sanjiv Sam Gambhir of Stanford University in Stanford, CA. Gambhir has collected numerous awards for achievement (including a Minnie in 2006 for Most Influential Radiology Researcher), so it's no surprise that when he talks, people listen.
This week in our Molecular Imaging Digital Community we bring you news of Gambhir's latest research project, exploring an imaging technique based on Raman spectroscopy. The method collects data on multiple processes in a tumor at the same time, according to an article by staff writer Wayne Forrest.
While PET and SPECT are great ways to assess tumor function, data collection is limited to one process at a time, and the patient can't be rescanned until the radiopharmaceutical decays. Raman spectroscopy could solve this problem by interrogating up to 30 events at once.
Read about how the technique could be used in a clinical environment by clicking here.
In other news in the community, find out how FDG-PET scans are differentiating benign from malignant lesions in the spine. MRI is already being used in the spine, but U.S. researchers believe that PET could show the same utility in the area like it's already demonstrated in the brain and lungs.
Learn more about that study by clicking here, or visit the Molecular Imaging Digital Community at molecular.auntminnie.com.
VC and fecal tagging
We're also featuring new research in virtual colonoscopy this week in our Virtual Colonoscopy Digital Community. In one article, Dutch researchers found that fecal tagging can limit the need for cathartic bowel preparation, a development that could improve VC screening compliance rates. That story is available by clicking here.
In another article, Korean researchers report on their experiences in setting up a colon cancer screening program that has examined more than 1,000 patients to date. Find out how they did it by clicking here, or visit our Virtual Colonoscopy Digital Community at vc.auntminnie.com.
