Martijn Wolters1,2, Marlies Oostendorp1,3,
Bram F. Coolen2, Mark J. Post3,4, Gustav J. Strijkers2,
Klaas Nicolay2, Walter H. Backes1,3
1Department of Radiology, Maastricht
University Medical Center, Maastricht, Netherlands; 2Biomedical
NMR, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of
Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands; 3Cardiovascular Research
Institute Maastricht (CARIM), Maastricht University Medical Center,
Maastricht, Netherlands; 4Department of Physiology, Maastricht
University, Maastricht, Netherlands
The
purpose of this study was to evaluate Susceptibility Gradient Mapping (SGM)
for molecular MRI to selectively detect tumor angiogenesis in mice with
cNGR-labeled SPIOs. SGM is a positive contrast technique to detect
susceptibility effects of SPIOs. In this experimental study we found CNR
values for SGM comparable to gradient echo (GE) images. Furthermore, a trend
towards stronger contrast enhancement for targeted SPIOs compared with
untargeted SPIO was perceived.