Getting a clearer picture in medical imaging
With a number of University initiatives underway to develop medical imaging expertise, Scotland has the potential to be very well placed in this fast moving global sector.
There are a number of medical imaging technologies in use, each with unique strengths. However there is currently no single modality that gives everything which will be required for medical diagnosis in the future.
While CT and MRI scanners provide clear structural images, neither gives the user molecular or biomechanical mechanisms of disease.
For molecular imaging, PET (positron emission tomography) provides very useful information for various types of cancer. However, while the pictures it produces are very meaningful, they do not have very high definition.
Professor Chris Haslett, head of the Queen’s Medical Research Institute (QMRI) at the University of Edinburgh, is aiming to overcome these obstacles: “We are working towards integrative imaging – using the various modalities to provide the images you need and then merging that information.”
At the heart of this is the University of Edinburgh/NHS-supported Clinical Research Imaging Centre (CRIC) at the QMRI, which will house a range of cutting-edge imaging machines, including CT, PET and MRI scanners.
“The QMRI is home to 600 bench scientists, working on mechanisms looking at the process of human disease in inflammatory, vascular and reproductive disease. With the imaging technology at their fingertips, the potential for cutting edge research into human disease is huge,” says Professor Haslett.
Like so many areas of technology, collaboration in medical imaging is vital for Scotland, as no one centre can do everything required to have an internationally competitive strategy. Imaging is a very experience-based technology and different centres in Scotland have different strengths.
Until recently, Aberdeen University had the only PET scan in Scotland, Strathclyde is leading the way in optical imaging, Edinburgh now has CRIC and Dundee is a world leader in biochemistry.
The challenge is bring all the skills and knowledge together and that is being met through the Scottish Imaging Network – A Platform for Scientific Excellence (SINAPSE) – led by Professor Joanna Wardlaw.
A consortium of six Scottish Universities – Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, St Andrews and Stirling – SINAPSE was created to establish a strong dynamic for a shared environment for strategic research development in brain imaging.
The network has increased the number of key research staff and students within Scotland and it also allows the sharing of skills and education through e-learning, seminars and other key events.
“We need to capitalise on Scotland’s strong chemistry, engineering and informatics and channel those into new imaging initiatives because molecular imaging needs these technologies.”
So, with well-established collaboration initiatives underway and real strength in the disciplines that are key to medical imaging, Scotland is well set to compete on an international scale.