News | Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) | July 25, 2022

Combined MRI/neuromodulation/drug delivery system could revolutionize mental health and neurological therapy 

Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology researchers improve the scanning capability of magnetic particle imaging systems used for medical imaging.

July 25, 2022 —  For any drug to be successful in treating mental health or neurological problems, the medicine has to penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The BBB is caused by tight openings in the microscopic vessels of the brain which prevent harmful substances from entering the brain, but also keep most useful drugs out. For example, only 0.01% of the anti-Alzheimer therapeutic antibodies in plasma enter the brain.  Of those few drugs that can enter the brain, many cause affect unwanted targets to cause side effects (for example, dyskinesias or weight gain). In results published in the journal Pharmaceutics (https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/14/7/1503), Weinberg Medical Physics (WMP) has demonstrated the ability to open the blood-brain-barrier (BBB) in mice and to safely deliver drugs using pulsed magnetic fields with tailored waveforms.  This work, performed in collaboration with Georgetown University, spurs development of a new class of noninvasive image-guided devices capable of safely treating many mental health and neurological disorders. 

Funded by the National Institute for Aging grant aimed at curing Alzheimer disease, the authors demonstrated that a new type of MRI composed of electro-permanent magnets could be used to generate tailored electromagnetic waveforms, some of which were much more effective at opening the BBB than others. As in a CT scanner, the selective electromagnetic waveforms could be applied from multiple sources to focally deliver drugs to specific regions of the brain.  The same device could also use magnetic pulses to help regrow neurons (“plasticity”), as is being done with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). According to Dr. Irving Weinberg, President of WMP, “This new device would allow psychiatrists and neurologists to treat diseased or underdeveloped brain tracts without causing unwanted side effects. Potential disorders to be treated could include addiction, autism, depression, neuropathic pain, and Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases.”  

Using an office-based human-sized version of this non-invasive device, it may prove possible to cure Alzheimer’s by delivering drugs and genes to specified tracts in the brain under real-time imaging guidance. 

For more information: https://www.weinbergmedicalphysics.com/ 


Related Content

News | Pediatric Imaging

April 10, 2025 — Cincinnati Children’s and GE HealthCare will form a strategic research program focused on driving ...

Time April 10, 2025
arrow
News | Radiology Imaging

Jan. 15, 2025 — University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Department of Radiology & Biomedical Imaging and GE ...

Time January 27, 2025
arrow
News | Contrast Media

Jan. 10, 2025 – Bayer has announced positive topline results of the Phase III QUANTI studies evaluating the efficacy and ...

Time January 14, 2025
arrow
News | RSNA

Nov. 13, 2024 — Agfa Radiology Solutions will feature live demonstrations of state-of-the-art digital X-ray rooms ...

Time November 14, 2024
arrow
News | Women's Health

Aug. 19, 2024 — GE HealthCare recently announced a collaboration with the University of California San Diego School of ...

Time August 29, 2024
arrow
News | Computed Tomography (CT)

SPONSORED CONTENT — Fujifilm’s latest CT technology brings exceptional image quality to a compact and user- and patient ...

Time August 06, 2024
arrow
News | Radiology Business

July 31, 2024 — The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) announced the three Registered Technologists (R ...

Time July 31, 2024
arrow
Feature | Computed Tomography (CT) | By Melinda Taschetta-Millane

In the ever-evolving landscape of medical imaging, computed tomography (CT) stands out as a cornerstone technology ...

Time July 30, 2024
arrow
Videos | Radiology Business

Find actionable insights to achieve sustainability and savings in radiology in this newest of ITN’s “One on One” video ...

Time July 30, 2024
arrow
Feature | Radiology Business | By Christine Book

Across the healthcare industry, and, notably, throughout the radiology community in just the past few years, the focus ...

Time July 26, 2024
arrow
Subscribe Now