MultiHance® is a paramagnetic contrast agent for use in diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the liver and central nervous system. MultiHance® is a small molecular weight chelate, which tightly binds the Gd atom. The substance is excreted partly by the kidneys, partly by the biliary system, which is especially unique.
MultiHance® is indicated, for the detection of focal liver lesions in patients with known or suspected primary liver cancer (e.g. hepatocellular carcinoma) or metastatic disease.
MultiHance® is also indicated in brain MRI and spine MRI where it improves the detection of lesions and provides diagnostic information additional to that obtained with unenhanced MRI.
Gd-BOPTA-enhanced MRA can provide superior vascular signal intensity and SNR, as compared with Gd-DTPA, due to its higher relaxivity, even at lower doses.
1 ml of solution MultiHance® contains: (0.5M) gadobenate dimeglumine 529 mg = gadobenic acid 334 mg + meglumine 195 mg. Viscosity at 37°C: 5.3 mPa

WARNING: NEPHROGENIC SYSTEMIC FIBROSIS Gadolinium-based contrast agents increase the risk for nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) in patients with acute or chronic severe renal insufficiency (glomerular filtration rate less than 30 mL/min/1.73m²), or acute renal insufficiency of any severity due to the hepato-renal syndrome or in the perioperative liver transplantation period.

(PROPELLER) The PROPELLER MRI technique reduces the sensitivity to various sources of image artifacts (e.g., motion artifact, field inhomogeneity artifact, eddy current artifact). PROPELLER can be used with gradient echo and turbo spin echo sequences in a wide range of applications to improve the image quality, for example cardiac MRI, brain MRI, and pediatric examinations.

MR images can be manipulated for evaluation in various ways. Postprocessing includes: Subtraction, addition, rotation, inversion, multiplanar reconstruction (MPR), maximum intensity projection (MIP), etc.
Subtraction is particularly useful in contrast enhanced MRI examinations (for example breast MRI, brain MRI). The pre contrast images are subtracted from the images after an injection of contrast agents (sometimes also called dye) for a better tumor detection.

See also Computer Aided Detection

Special imaging primarily means advanced MRI techniques used for qualitative and quantitative measurement of biological metabolism as e.g., spectroscopy, perfusion imaging (PWI, ASL), diffusion weighted imaging (DWI, DTI, DTT) and brain function (BOLD, fMRI). This physiological magnetic resonance techniques offer insights into brain structure, function, and metabolism.
Spectroscopy provides functional information related to identification and quantification of e.g. brain metabolites. MR perfusion imaging has applications in stroke, trauma, and brain neoplasm. MRI provides the high spatial and temporal resolution needed to measure blood flow to the brain. arterial spin labeling techniques utilize the intrinsic protons of blood and brain tissue, labeled by special preparation pulses, rather than exogenous tracers injected into the blood.
MR diffusion tensor imaging characterizes the ability of water to spread across the brain in different directions. Diffusion parallel to nerve fibers has been shown to be greater than diffusion in the perpendicular direction. This provides a tool to study in vivo fiber connectivity in brain MRI.
FMRI allows the detection of a functional activation in the brain because cortical activity is intimately related to local metabolism changes.

See also Diffusion Tensor Tractography.

Texas-based university research group. Current projects include: 'Multi-Modal Molecular Imaging Agents' or 'Micro-Fluidics and Nanosensing'. For example, the research group is evaluating Ln-PK-11195 as a bimodal imaging contrast agent for brain cancer detection by MRI and fluorescence.
Please see their Current Projects Abstracts for complete coverage.