Imaging technology could improve disease diagnosis

The method could be used to take precise three-dimensional images of plaques lining arteries, said Ji-Xin Cheng, an associate professor of biomedical engineering and chemistry at Purdue University.

Other imaging methods that provide molecular information are unable to penetrate tissue deep enough to reveal the three-dimensional structure of the plaques, but being able to do so would make better diagnoses possible, he added.

‘You would have to cut a cross-section of an artery to really see the three-dimensional structure of the plaque,’ Cheng said. ‘Obviously, that can’t be used for living patients.’

According to Purdue, the imaging reveals the presence of carbon-hydrogen bonds making up lipid molecules in arterial plaques that cause heart disease.

It is claimed that the method might also be used to detect fat molecules in muscles to diagnose diabetes and other lipid-related disorders, including neurological conditions and brain trauma. The technique also reveals nitrogen-hydrogen bonds making up proteins, meaning the imaging tool also might be useful for diagnosing other diseases and to study collagen’s role in scar formation.