Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer Magnetic Resonance Imaging (CEST MRI)
CEST MRI allows the detection of previously undetectable amide protons due to its low concentration, through a chemical exchange reaction with the water protons. This new and novel imaging technique has the ability to measure cellular information such as pH and protein concentration.
Since pH drop happens prior to cerebal infarction (cell death), CEST MRI has the potential to better stratify stroke patients for thrombolysis to increase the benefit and to outweigh the risk of the treatment.
In tumour, pH and protein concentration are different compared to normal tissue, CEST MRI has the potential to improve tumour diagnosis and treatment planning by providing more accurate targets for biopsy, local chemotherapy, radiation therapy and tumour resection.
Please cite the following papers if you like the video above:
Foo, LS, Larkin, JR, Sutherland, BA, et al. Study of common quantification methods of amide proton transfer magnetic resonance imaging for ischemic stroke detection. Magn Reson Med. 2021; 85: 2188– 2200. https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.28565
Foo, LS, Yap, WS, Hum, YC, Manan, HA, Tee, YK, “Analysis of Model-Based and Model-Free CEST Effect Quantification Methods for Different Medical Applications”, Journal of Magnetic Resonance, Volume 310, January 2020, 106648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmr.2019.106648