MR Solutions’ advanced imaging system helps researchers to gain better understanding of aging processes

Research published in Nature by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science (KAIST) found that lymphatic vessels in the scull involved in the clearance of cerebrospinal fluid often become compromised with age. This finding was only possible through advances in imaging technology.

Using MR Solutions’ 3T/17 preclinical liquid-helium free MRI system the KAIST researchers observed how the meningeal lymphatic vessels (mLVs), mainly in the basal part of the skull, are involved in the clearance of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). They found that, as people age, the integrity of the mLVs and subsequent CSF drainage is impaired.

The team’s findings are helping to better understand how these mLVs contribute to the neuropath physiological processes that are associated with the ageing process. The full research findings have been published in the scientific journal Nature, August 2019.

Professor Sung-Hong Park, Associate Professor of Bio and Brain Engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science, said:

It’s only now with far better imaging systems such as MR Solutions’ 3T MRI scanner that this type of research is possible."

MR Solutions’ 3 Tesla MRI system provided preclinical molecular imaging of rodents in in-vivo applications. Two baseline reference scans were taken during the project with 32 dynamic scans with time interval of 4 minutes 36 seconds. A contrast agent was also used during the research with MR Solutions’ Powerscan software solution providing data collection.

MR Solutions’ preclinical MRI and PET imaging systems won the prestigious Queen’s Awards for Enterprise for Innovation in 2016 and 2019. The company has over 30 years’ experience and in excess of 2000 installations across the world. Its unique liquid helium free MRI scanners are renowned for their excellence in terms of superior soft tissue contrast and molecular imaging quality.

MR Solutions has its global headquarters in the UK, with offices in the USA and distributors and support staff in all the major markets across the world.