Advanced Imaging
Medical imaging refers to technologies like X-ray, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography (PET). Through a partnership with RadNet, one of the nation’s leading providers of outpatient imaging services, Cancer Research Collaboration is able to offer researchers access to high-quality, advanced imaging.
How Does Imaging Help Cancer Patients?
The ability to “see” inside the body is critical to screening for, treating and monitoring cancer. Developments in imaging technology have helped to save many lives. For instance, mammogram screening for breast cancer enables early detection of tumors and has helped to reduce mortality from breast cancer by around one-third over the past several decades.
One area of particular interest to Cancer Research Collaboration is molecular diagnostics, or molecular imaging. This enables visualization of cellular function, which can sometimes reveal an individual’s risk for disease, aid in diagnosis and provide useful clinical information about a disease.
In molecular imaging, radiopharmaceuticals administered to patients allow images to show biomarkers that can indicate a certain type of disease or even how aggressively that disease will progress. For instance, one radiopharmaceutical currently being investigated can reveal beta-amyloid in the brain, which is a biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease.
Molecular diagnostics is still a relatively new field in medicine, but ongoing research shows enormous potential that could benefit patients.
If you are an investigator looking for high quality imaging for your clinical trials and have any questions regarding imaging services coordinated through the CRC, please contact us.