Medical Imaging

Displaying 31 - 39 of 39


Assessment of Right Ventricular Function Using Contrast Echocardiography

Vanderbilt Medical Center researchers have developed a non-invasive and reproducible method of assessing right-ventricular function using contrast-echocardiography. The right-ventricular transit time (RVTT) measures the time needed for echocardiographic contrast to travel from the RV to the bifurcation of the main pulmonary artery. Coupled with the pulmonary transit time (PTT), the time needed for contrast to traverse the entire pulmonary circulation, RVTT is part of a family of diagnostic parameters that can report on RV-specific performance as well as the RV's function relative to that of the pulmonary circuit as a whole.


Licensing Contact

Chris Harris

615.343.4433

COX2 Probes for Multimodal Imaging

Inventors at Vanderbilt University have developed a novel chemical design and synthesis process for azulene-based COX2 contrast agents which can be used for molecular imaging, via a variety of imaging techniques. These COX2 probes can be utilized for numerous applications, including imaging cancers and inflammation caused by arthritis and cardiovascular diseases. The process for developing these COX2 contrast agents has been significantly improved through a convergent synthesis process which reduces the required steps to establish the COX2 precursors.


Licensing Contact

Masood Machingal

615.343.3548
Medical Imaging

Hyper-SHIELDED - Preserving Parahydrogen Spin Order by Efficient Transfer of Nuclear Singlet

Hyperpolarization of nuclear spin ensembles has increased NMR sensitivity to a level that is now enabling detection of metabolism in biological tissue on a time-scale of seconds. The present invention is a pulse sequence that efficiently transforms parahydrogen spin order into heteronuclear magnetization. This was achieved via a single streamlined sequence without recursive application, by finding sequential analytic solutions to the density matrix evolution for each of four independent intervals that collectively flank two proton inversions and one heteronuclear excitation. The name hyper-SHIELDED (Singlet to Heteronuclei by Interative Evolution Locks Dramatic Enhancement for Delivery) reflects the sequence's protective effect on PHIP hyperpolarization.


Licensing Contact

Chris Harris

615.343.4433
Medical Imaging

Parahydrogen-Induced Polarizer (PHIP)

The present invention provides a PANACEA (Pneumatics Allow Nonmagnetic Actuation for Creation of Enhanced Alignment) polarizer system. This is an integrated assembly of pneumatically actuated, nonmagnetic hydraulic circuits that enable PASADENA chemicals to be efficiently stored, mixed, and reacted in close proximity or within NMR magnetic fields.


Licensing Contact

Chris Harris

615.343.4433

Inventors

Kevin Waddell
Medical Imaging

PANORAMIC: Precession and Nutation for Observing Rotation at Multiple Intervals about the Carrier

Methods of hyperpolarization based on parahydrogen have been expanding recently from the early applications in hydrogenation chemistry to biomedical imaging where they are expected to yield similar information as the competing technology, dynamic nuclear polarization, (DNP). These hyperpolarization experiments have already enabled the measurement of metabolism in vivo at temporal resolutions of seconds. When infused into organisms harboring tumor cells, molecules such as pyruvate and lactate have been shown to be sufficiently long-lived to infiltrate cellular metabolic cycles and be converted at different rates in cancer versus normal tissue. DNP has been used most frequently in these early studies, owing to commercial availability and the flexibility to polarize small molecules such as pyruvate and lactate. Techniques based on chemical addition or exchange of parahydrogen have also shown promise for generating metabolic contrast in vivo at similar levels of signal enhancement and at lower costs.


Licensing Contact

Chris Harris

615.343.4433

Inventors

Kevin Waddell
Medical Imaging

Combined Raman Spectroscopy- Optical Coherence Tomography (RS-OCT)

Vanderbilt researchers have developed an optical system for the differentiation of normal and cancerous skin lesions. The system combines the diagnostic prowess of two separate techniques to provide non-invasive, real-time, in-situ evaluation of lesions.


Licensing Contact

Ashok Choudhury

615.322.2503

Method for the Automatic Segmentation of the Facial Nerve and the Chorda Tympani in CT Images

This is a high resolution imaging device that can detect the fundamental functional units of cortical organization. Currently, with existing technology, we are able to monitor the activity of these units in the awake, head-fixed animal using large standard sized cameras mounted on heavy camera arms. However, we need a capability to conduct such monitoring in the awake and freely moving animal so that we can relate specific patterns of cortical activity to natural behaviors.


Licensing Contact

Taylor Jordan

615.936.7505
Medical Imaging

Trimodal Handheld Probe Based on Raman Spectroscopy and Confocal Imaging for Cancer Detection

This technology relates to a device and method for non-invasive evaluation of a target of interest of a living subject, and in particular to devices and methods that integrate confocal imaging with confocal Raman spectroscopy, for non-invasive evaluation of the biochemical compositions and morphological details of normal and cancerous skin lesions of a living subject.


Licensing Contact

Ashok Choudhury

615.322.2503

System and Methods of Using Image-guidance for Placement of Cochlear Stimulator Devices, Drug Carrier Devices, or the Like

Vanderbilt inventors have developed and tested a device (C-in) and method that would shift the current invasive, risky surgical procedure of cochlear implantation to a less invasive outpatient procedure.


Licensing Contact

Taylor Jordan

615.936.7505