New Magnetic Particle Imaging System in Caen, France will Advance Inflammatory Disease Research

ALAMEDA, Calif., March 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Magnetic Insight, the world leader in Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) technology, announced today the installation of a Momentum^™ CT MPI scanner at the Cyceron biomedical imaging research facility where the Blood and Brain @ Caen Normandie Institute (BB@C) is hosted. The center, one of France's leading in vivo imaging facilities, houses a unique set of laboratories and equipment that support research services and academic and industrial partnerships. This new equipment is funded by the Normandie region council and Inserm organization.

"We are pleased to support Cyceron and BB@C as they develop methods for imaging inflammatory diseases," said Dr. Patrick Goodwill, CEO of Magnetic Insight. "They are world leaders in molecular imaging, and we anticipate their work will push the MPI field into new areas."

The Momentum enables preclinical testing of imaging protocols and cell therapies in translational research by capturing pathophysiology currently invisible to traditional imaging techniques. This new information allows MPI to monitor costly adoptive cell therapies and disease-modifying therapies and inform physicians on the best clinical management.

The new imaging system at Cyceron will be a resource for multiple researchers to help accelerate discoveries for inflammatory diseases, such as Multiple Sclerosis and Crohn's Disease.

The principal investigator is Pr. Denis Vivien, PhD, a Professor of Cell Biology at Caen-Normandy University, a University Hospital Practitioner (PUPH) at Caen Hospital, Head of the Center for Biological Resources (CRB-InnovaBIO), Director of INSERM Physiopathology and Imaging of Neurological Disorders, and Director of Blood and Brain at Caen-Normandie Institute. 

Pr. Vivien's research involves utilizing endothelial activation to reveal inflammatory processes in the brain, kidney, lung, and intestine. He aims to use MPI to develop polydopamine particles developed by his collaborators, Dr. Maxime Gauberti, Dr Sara Martinez De Lizarrondo, Jonathan Vigne, and Thomas Bonnard, into an imaging diagnostic that reveals inflammatory disease processes.

"We are excited about this new technology and what it can do for patient care," said Pr. Vivien. "We will continue to work hard to improve the management of inflammatory diseases, and there is no shortage of clinical applications for these discoveries."

About Cyceron and BB@C

Located in Caen, within EPOPEA, the Cyceron imaging platform houses a unique set of laboratories and equipment for (radio)chemistry, preclinical and clinical imaging (PET, MRI, MPI, fUS). Cyceron is a Public Interest Group (GIP) whose members are the national research organizations (CEA, Inserm), the University of Caen Normandy, the Center Hospitalier et Universitaire de Caen, the Center for the Fight Against Cancer François Baclesse as well as the Normandy Region and the Caen la Mer urban community. Cyceron hosts a unique Institute dedicated to the blood and brain interactions (BB@C co-founded by Inserm, Caen Normandie University and Hospital.

About Magnetic Insight

Magnetic Insight has pioneered magnetic particle imaging (MPI), a new diagnostic and monitoring technology that transforms medical imaging. MPI provides unique information not available from current structural and metabolic imaging captured by CT, MRI, and nuclear medicine. Having started in the preclinical space by selling small animal products to leading universities worldwide, Magnetic Insight is now scaling up MPI technology for clinical use. For more information, visit www.magneticinsight.com.

Media Contact:

Patrick Goodwill
510-291-1200
[email protected] 

SOURCE Magnetic Insight