State of the heart

has obtained the first real-time images of blood flow and heart movement from its Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) technology.

The device works by detecting the magnetic properties of injected iron-oxide nanoparticles to produce images that could aid in the diagnosis of illnesses such as heart disease, strokes and cancer.

Prof Valentin Fuster, director of the Mount Sinai Heart Center, New York, said: ‘A novel non-invasive cardiac imaging technology is required to further unravel and characterise the disease processes associated with atherosclerosis, in particular those associated with vulnerable plaque formation, which is a major risk factor for strokes and heart attacks.’

‘Through its combined speed, resolution and sensitivity, Magnetic Particle Imaging technology has great potential for this application, and the latest in-vivo imaging results represent a major breakthrough.’

The technology uses a combination of high spatial resolution and short image acquisition times (typically around 1/50 of a second) to capture concentration changes of the nanoparticles as they move along the blood stream. Because the human body contains no naturally occurring magnetic materials, there is no background signal, making the technology suitable for whole-body use.