New MR, PET Images Analyze Alzheimer’s Biomarkers

 An anti-amyloid antibody drug that reduces amyloid beta proteins in the brain has provided a novel treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. This innovative brain imaging solution for Alzheimer’s disease management can analyze Amyloid-Related Imaging Abnormalities (ARIA), a known side-effect in patients using the anti-amyloid drug. Previously, careful monitoring and management of ARIA was crucial due to the drug’s side effects. 

An Artificial Intelligence (AI) company, Neurophet, specializes in brain diseases. Neurophet has created a new technology that examines ARIA-E (edema), generally detected by T2-FLAIR, and MRI sequence, along with ARIA-H (hemorrhages), mostly recognized by GRE or SWI. To properly observe cortical amyloid beta deposition, an amyloid-PET scan is essential. 

The AI technology developed by Neurophet predicts amyloid positivity through Magnetic Resonance (MR) images before conducting amyloid-PET scans. Since amyloid-PET scans are expensive and their use and recompense are severely restricted, the use of MR images for predicting amyloid positivity could offer a cost-effective solution in regards to clinical trials and prognosis of Alzheimer’s. 

Neurophet set the stage at the 2023 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) with its cutting-edge brain imaging analysis technology, which can be used in both clinical trials and Alzheimer’s disease drug prescriptions. 

AQUA software, a brain MRI analysis tool, examines brain atrophy observed in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s by measuring cortical amyloid beta deposition, a known causative agent of the disease. Neurophet hopes to bring the products to market side-by-side with new Alzheimer’s disease treatments. The company has invested in research and development focused on ARIA side effects. 

Jake Junkil Been, CEO of Neurophet, said, “Neurophet’s major products and technologies are expected to be very useful in the process of clinical trials, diagnosis, side effect monitoring, and prognosis observation of Alzheimer’s disease treatment. We are going all out to develop solutions related to Alzheimer’s disease treatment to preemptively target the high-growth Alzheimer’s disease treatment market.” 

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RadParts, a TTG Imaging Solutions Company, is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts. We specialize in low-cost parts for repairing linear accelerators and radiation equipment. Our mission is to provide high-quality, user-friendly, low-cost components and support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment. Contact RadParts at  877-704-3838 to learn more.

Written by the digital marketing team at Creative Programs & Systems: https://www.cpsmi.com/ 

Prostate Cancer Treatment Vastly Improved

 

Cutting-edge technology and nuclear medicine are massively improving prostate cancer treatments, especially over the past two decades. Before 2000, prostate cancer was detected through manual palpation, a Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test, and an ultrasound. Notably, prostate cancer is not visible in ultrasounds, so urologists would have to sample random prostate areas to discover the cancer. 

In the early 2000s, prostate MRI emerged and progressed through the 2010s. This technology allowed radiologists to discover whether prostate tumors were present. 

Brett Mollard, MD, a diagnostic radiologist in Michigan, said, “They could now see and target the tumors rather than randomly sampling the prostate and hoping to biopsy the tumor. We’re actively witnessing a second revolution thanks to new imaging agents, known as radiotracers or radiopharmaceuticals, for PET.”

In 2012, Positron Emission Technology (PET) radiotracers received approval, with better ones emerging in 2016. In 2021, Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) was introduced, which helped to diagnose with lightning speed compared to previous methods. 

Andres Correa, MD, assistant professor at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, said, “While MRI has significantly reduced the rate of negative biopsies and the diagnosis of low-risk prostate cancer, the imaging modality remains limited. Up to 50 percent of patients with prostate imaging-reporting and data system (PI-RADS) 4 and 25 percent of patients with PI-RADS 5 will have benign findings on targeted biopsy. I believe that the incorporation of PSMA agents into MRI screening will allow us to better define patients who need a prostate biopsy and further reduce the number of unnecessary prostate biopsies.” 

Avenda Health’s new AI-backed prostate cancer technology, cleared by the FDA, is emerging in Los Angeles with promising results. Using machine learning, the Unfold AI platform gives physicians the most accurate picture of prostate cancer to date. 

Wayne Brisbane, MD, assistant professor of urology at UCLA Health, said, “With a wide breadth of ablative options available, Unfold AI represents the first technology to improve tumor localization and patient selection. I am hopeful that Unfold AI will be intraprostatic staging what prostate-specific membrane antigen PET/CT has been for extraprostatic staging. Additionally, there are potential applications for surgery, radiation therapy, and patient decision-making.”

Mollard said, “Prostate cancer treatment is already at a great place, especially for local and regional disease, where five-year survival rates are already over 98 percent. Over the next 10 years, I think the focus will remain on earlier and more accurate diagnosis/detection and discovering new drugs to treat metastatic prostate cancer.”  

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RadParts, a TTG Imaging Solutions Company, is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts. We specialize in low-cost parts for repairing linear accelerators and radiation equipment. Our mission is to provide high-quality, user-friendly, low-cost components and support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment. Contact RadParts at  877-704-3838 to learn more.

Written by the digital marketing team at Creative Programs & Systems: https://www.cpsmi.com/ 

Examining Breast Cancer Screening Age

 

The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) recently released a Statement on Screening for Breast Cancer, sparked by new recommendations from the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).

The ACR and Society of Breast Imaging recommend an annual mammography screening starting at age 40, but in updated guidelines, the ACR lowered its recommended age to 25. 

Stamatia V. Destounis, MD, chair of the ACR Breast Commission and a member of the RSNA Public Information Advisors Network, said, “The ACR recommends that the patient at average risk for breast cancer gets screened with mammography starting at age 40 and yearly thereafter with no upward limit, as age should not be a factor of when a patient stops screening instead of their overall health and other comorbidities. The ACR guidelines speak specifically for the high-risk patient because of family history of breast cancer, and or dense breast tissue as these are groups that the USPSTF fails to recommend any supplemental screening.” 

The USPSTF recently released a statement suggesting biennial mammography screenings for women ages 40 to 74. The recommendation states that the “current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening mammography in women aged 75 years of age or older.” Public comments on the statement are being accepted until June 6, 2023. 

Dr. Destounis said, “The new Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines from USPSTF do not go far enough in their recommendation for breast cancer screening. Black women are 42 percent more likely to die of breast cancer in comparison to white women and the USPSTF guidelines could exacerbate the disparities by allowing cancers in those high-risk women another year to advance.”

Breast cancer screening targets small cancers in their early stages before it’s symptomatic or significantly spread throughout the body. According to 2015 National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data, the breast cancer death rate in the United States (which remained unchanged for the previous 50 years) has decreased by 43 percent due to early mammography screening. 

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RadParts, a TTG Imaging Solutions Company, is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts. We specialize in low-cost parts for repairing linear accelerators and radiation equipment. Our mission is to provide high-quality, user-friendly, low-cost components and support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment. Contact RadParts at  877-704-3838 to learn more.

Written by the digital marketing team at Creative Programs & Systems: https://www.cpsmi.com/ 

Superior Cancer Therapy via Novel Tracking Radiation Treatment

 

For the first time, researchers at the University of Michigan developed a way to measure radiation during cancer treatment using precise 3D imaging. 

Medical professionals could map the radiation dose by capturing and magnifying small sound waves created by the x-ray heating body tissue. This novel approach offers a new view into data and treatments that doctors could not see before.

Hundreds of thousands of patients receive radiation in cancer treatment every year, which introduces high energy waves and x-ray particles to the body in large increments to debilitate cancer cells. A lack of precision overshadows the benefits of radiation, which also generally damages healthy surrounding cells and can increase the risk of developing new tumors. 

Xueding Wang, the Jonathan Rubin Collegiate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, professor of radiology, and corresponding author in the study published in Nature Biotechnology, and leader in the Optical Imaging Laboratory, said, “Once you start delivering radiation, the body is pretty much a black box. We don’t know exactly where the x-rays are hitting inside the body, and we don’t know how much radiation we’re delivering to the target. And each body is different, so making predictions for both aspects is tricky.” 

Real-time 3D imaging allows doctors to focus radiation on cancerous cells more accurately and minimize exposure to nearby cells. Thermal energy results from x-rays when absorbed into tissues, which causes the cells to expand, creating a sound wave. 

Standard ultrasound technology cannot pick up on these acoustic waves, which are relatively weak. Now, this new technology detects the wave with a selection of ultrasonic transducers aimed at the patient’s side. The signal is augmented and relocated into an ultrasonic device that reconstructs the image. 

Oncology clinics can then maneuver radiation doses to ensure safer and more effective care. The new therapy can also be effortlessly added to existing radiation therapy equipment without significantly altering the clinicians’ current procedures. 

RadParts, a TTG Imaging Solutions Company, is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts. We specialize in low-cost parts for repairing linear accelerators and radiation equipment. Our mission is to provide high-quality, user-friendly, low-cost components and support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment. Contact RadParts at  877-704-3838 to learn more.

Written by the digital marketing team at Creative Programs & Systems: https://www.cpsmi.com/