MRI/MRS Use of Isotopes in Hyperpolarization: Biomedical Applications

The single greatest impediment to the use of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in vivo is its limited sensitivity . Hyperpolarization promises enhanced magnetic resonance, with signal amplification up to 200,000‐fold greater than we have today, this technology will detect attomoles to nanomoles of isotopically labeled specific disease markers in under one second and will permit whole-body scans of humans with existing or cheaper MRI scanners, to be performed in tens of seconds, and thereby bring the overall cost of medical imaging down by one to two orders of magnitude. An immediate benefit of this advance would be the provision of routine screening MR examinations anywhere with a stable power supply. This innovative idea of real time imaging has already made great strides in recent years, using three different methodologies of hyperpolarization a) Parahydrogen And Synthesis Allows Dramatically Enhanced Nuclear Alignment (PASADENA) a.k.a Parahydrogen Induced Polarization (PHIP) ; b) Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) (6,7) and c) Xenon and Helium hyperpolarization .