Event
Bioengineering Seminar Series: Dirk Mayer
Friday, September 12, 2014
9:00 a.m.
Pepco Room (1105), Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building
Professor Benjamin Shapiro
benshap@umd.edu
Dirk Mayer
Associate Professor
Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Hyperpolarized 13C Metabolic Imaging with Dynamic Nuclear Polarization
In vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy (MRS) provide a vast amount of information non-invasively for both clinical practice and research. However, many applications, in particular for MRS, are hampered by the intrinsic low sensitivity of this methodology. This is primarily caused by the low degree of nuclear spin polarization, i.e., the preferential alignment of the spins relative to the strong imaging magnetic field, that is the source of the MR signal. The recent development of dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) for hyperpolarization of metabolically active substrates permits metabolic imaging with signal enhancements on the order of 10,000-fold.
In this talk I will first discuss the basic principles of dissolution DNP, the special conditions and requirements to image hyperpolarized substrates in vivo, and the type of information that can be obtained. Finally I will present a series applications of this methodology to the investigation of pathologically altered metabolism with the focus on cancer.
About the Speaker
Mayer's area of expertise is the technical development of in vivo MRI/MRS methods with particular emphasis on fast spectroscopic imaging techniques. His current research interests focus on the in vivo metabolic imaging of hyperpolarized compounds and its application in investigating metabolic processes under both normal and pathologic conditions. At this time, he is exploring the application in tumor diagnosis and treatment monitoring, and in the study of cardiovascular pathologies, inflammatory diseases, and brain metabolism.
