美研究人员使用核磁共振-近红外光学技术诊断乳腺癌

 
通过联合使用两种技术，核磁共振(MRI)和近红外光学，研究人员设计了一种更加有效的诊断乳腺癌的新方法。

这种新技术使用MRI生成乳腺影像，提供其结构方面的信息，包括形状和构成。这种近红外光学技术提供了组织如何发挥功能方面的数据，例如某个区域是否包含大量血液，是否象早期肿瘤一种快速消耗氧气。美国Dartmouth学院医学院(Hanover, NH, USA)的研究人员，希望了解这种双重程序是否能够在活检之前就能够发现组织是否恶变。他们的小规模研究证实了这种可能，研究结果发表在2007年4月15日的《光学通讯》期刊之上。
 
Combined MRI-Optics Technique Provides Breast Cancer Diagnosis
 
By combining two techniques, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and near-infrared optics, researchers may have designed a new, potentially more effective method for diagnosing breast cancer.

The new technique utilizes MRI to produce an image of the breast, providing information on its structure, including shape and composition. The near-infrared light technique provides data on how the tissue is functioning, such as, whether a region contains a large amount of blood and is rapidly consuming oxygen as early tumors typically do. The researchers, from Dartmouth College Medical School (Hanover, NH, USA), are hoping this dual-procedure approach will be a vital application to learning which tissues are malignant before performing a biopsy. Their pilot study, demonstrating the feasibility of the concept, was published in the April 15, 2007, issue of the journal Optics Letters.