Imaging Techniques News and Research

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Non-invasive and longitudinal assessment of fat in animal disease models

Researchers are increasingly aware that fat in some parts of the body is more harmful than fat in other places. To help determine how obesity works, scientists turn to animal models and now, they are able to visualize how much fat their lab rats are carrying and where they are storing it.

5 Apr 2012

Deep brain stimulation has long-lasting effects in patients with severe depression

People with severe depression are constantly despondent, lacking in drive, withdrawn and no longer feel joy. Most suffer from anxiety and the desire to take their own life. Approximately one out of every five people in Germany suffers from depression in the course of his/her life - sometimes resulting in suicide. People with depression are frequently treated with psychotherapy and medication.

5 Apr 2012

Scientists image process of consciousness after general anesthesia

Awakening from anesthesia is often associated with an initial phase of delirious struggle before the full restoration of awareness and orientation to one's surroundings. Scientists now know why this may occur: primitive consciousness emerges first. Using brain imaging techniques in healthy volunteers, a team of scientists led by Adjunct Professor Harry Scheinin, M.D. from the University of Turku, Turku, Finland in collaboration with investigators from the University of California, Irvine, USA, have now imaged the process of returning consciousness after general anesthesia.

5 Apr 2012

Altered activity at different sites within brain network may be related to different features of depression

Depressed individuals with a tendency to ruminate on negative thoughts, i.e. to repeatedly think about particular negative thoughts or memories, show different patterns of brain network activation compared to healthy individuals, report scientists of a new study in Biological Psychiatry.

4 Apr 2012

Neural imaging-maps of brain functions hope to transform lives of people with epilepsy

Neural imaging-maps of brain functions-is a primary tool used by researchers hoping to transform the lives of people living with chronic neurological conditions such as epilepsy. At present, researchers often require several different imaging techniques to fully map brain functions, making research and treatment of these conditions expensive and inefficient.

3 Apr 2012

Mammograms may increase risk for ‘over-diagnosis’ of cancers: Study

According to a new study from Norway up to a fourth of breast cancers found through mammograms are harmless and would not cause noticeable disease during the women's lifetimes. Such women are said to be over-diagnosed, because their cancers would not have caused symptoms or death. Over-diagnosis is a problem because women may receive tests and treatment they did not actually need.

2 Apr 2012

Successful aneurysm treatment may not improve quality of life

Patients with unruptured brain aneurysms have significant reductions in several areas of quality of life—especially physical functioning, reports a study in the April issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

2 Apr 2012

Number of kidney cancer cases rises over 9,000 in Great Britain

The number of cases of kidney cancer diagnosed each year in Great Britain has risen over 9,000 for the first time, new figures from Cancer Research UK show today.

31 Mar 2012

Western University develops DeskCAT- Multi-slice CT Scanner

Biophysics professors at Western University, in London, Canada, have developed a CT (Computed Tomography) scanner small enough to sit on a desk. Jerry Battista, Chair of the Department of Medical Biophysics at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and Kevin Jordan of the London Regional Cancer Program at London Health Sciences Centre invented the DeskCAT- Multi-slice CT Scanner as a novel and interactive way to teach CT imaging techniques to a wide range of students.

16 Mar 2012

New ultrasound technique for rapid and accurate assessment of osteoporosis

Laser-based measurements are proving to be a promising method for the assessment of osteoporosis. The team led by Professor Jussi Timonen has developed an ultrasound technique that use laser beams for a rapid and accurate assessment of osteoporosis.

8 Mar 2012

Concussion in kids may lead to memory and cognitive problems at school later in life

The researchers from Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University looked at 186 children aged 8 to 15 who experienced concussion - most commonly in a fall or while playing sports - or other brain injury from a car accident or other causes. The children’s parents were asked to fill out a standard questionnaire to assess their child’s cognitive and physical status before the concussion, and again two weeks, three months and a year later. These responses were compared to those from parents of 99 similar children who came into the emergency room with orthopedic injuries.

7 Mar 2012

New tool to map extent of traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury among soldiers, sportsmen and women and accident survivors are common but may go undetected at the time of the event and manifest later in life. Now scientists are testing a tool that lights up the breaks these injuries leave deep in the brain's wiring, much like X-rays show broken bones.

4 Mar 2012

Researchers refute widely accepted hypothesis about causative step in ALS

In science, refuting a hypothesis can be as significant as proving one, all the more so in research aimed at elucidating how diseases proceed with a view toward preventing, treating, or curing them. Such a discovery can save scientists from spending precious years of effort exploring a dead end. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Munich-based researchers refute a widely accepted hypothesis about a causative step in neurodegenerative conditions.

1 Mar 2012

Helmholtz Association grant for research on diseases caused by protein misfolding

Professor Erich Wanker of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and of the Excellence Cluster Neurocure is to receive EUR 675 000 in funding from the Helmholtz Association over the next two years. The grant shall be used to accelerate the search for active agents to treat diseases that are caused by protein misfolding. These include Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

24 Feb 2012

Major discovery for visual cognition using diffusion spectrum imaging

If you are looking for a particular object - say a yellow pencil - on a cluttered desk, how does your brain work to visually locate it?

22 Feb 2012

Deep brain stimulation can also affect respiratory function

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has become a common treatment for patients with chronic pain or movement disorders. Now a unique set of experiments shows that electrical stimulation in some of the same brain areas can also affect respiratory function, according to a study in the February issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

16 Feb 2012

Diffusion-weighted MRI may effectively indicate response to ovarian cancer treatment

Cancer Research UK-funded scientists have determined that a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique, which measures the movement of water molecules within the tumour, may be the best way to monitor how women with late-stage ovarian cancer are responding to treatment. The study is published in the journal Radiology today.

14 Feb 2012