The University of Birmingham, England, is working with Birmingham Children's Hospital to use high-tech science to make a difference to children's lives.
Scientists and clinicians are pioneering the diagnosis and treatment of children's brain tumours using the most powerful and stable magnetic instruments in the world. For the first time, it is becoming possible to tell the type of tumour and predict its behaviour using magnetic resonance scans. Alongside advanced head scans, scientists are using superconducting magnets to analyse samples from children's tumours - improving diagnosis and treatment.
The University of Birmingham is home to the UK's first 900 MHz Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer, a national resource within the Henry Wellcome Building for Biomolecular NMR Spectroscopy. The spectrometers use powerful magnetic fields to allow researchers to look in minute detail at a sample, the 900MHz is 20 times stronger than hospital imaging magnets. The relationships between atoms and molecules can be examined to point to the types of effects drug treatments could have. This technology could lead to more efficient treatments on an individual basis.
Professor Michael Overduin is executive director of the Birmingham's national NMR facility and professor of structural biology at the University of Birmingham. He explains: "Using these powerful magnets we can image and diagnose the root causes of cancer and other diseases. They also help us understand basic biology, for example the mechanisms of proteins that make cells grow and divide. This benefits patients through diagnosis and importantly assists drug development - pharmaceutical companies will be carrying out research here alongside university and hospital scientists".