A Pilot Study on Coupling CT and MRI through Use of Semiconductor Nanoparticles

TL;DR

This pilot study explores coupling CT and MRI using semiconductor nanophosphors, demonstrating potential x-ray induced effects on MRI signals, which could lead to integrated imaging modalities.

Contribution

It proposes a novel mechanism for linking CT and MRI via nanophosphors that can be excited by x-rays to influence MRI relaxation times.

Findings

X-ray excitation of nanophosphors may alter MRI T2 relaxation times.

Initial results suggest a measurable effect, but are limited by experimental conditions.

Further experiments with soluble nanophosphors are planned to confirm findings.

Abstract

CT and MRI are the two most widely used imaging modalities in healthcare, each with its own merits and drawbacks. Combining these techniques in one machine could provide unprecedented resolution and sensitivity in a single scan, and serve as an ideal platform to explore physical coupling of x-ray excitation and magnetic resonance. Molecular probes such as functionalized nanophosphors present an opportunity to demonstrate a synergy between these modalities. However, a simultaneous CT-MRI scanner does not exist at this moment. As a pilot study, here we propose a mechanism in which water solutions containing LiGa5O8:Cr3+ nanophosphors can be excited with x-rays to store energy, and these excited particles may subsequently influence the T2 relaxation times of the solutions so that a difference in T2 can be measured by MRI before and after x-ray excitation. The trends seen in our study suggest that a measurable effect may exist from x-ray excitation of the nanophosphors. However, there are several experimental conditions that hinder the clarity of the results to be statistically significant up to a commonly accepted level (p=0.05), including insoluble nanoparticles and inter-scan variability. Nevertheless, the initial results from our experiments seem a consistent and inspiring story that x-rays modify MRI T2 values around nanophosphors. Upon availability of soluble nanophosphors, we will repeat our experiments to confirm these observations.