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At present, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is developing from traditional structural imaging and functional imaging to molecular imaging. Multi-nuclear MR Can obtain a variety of metabolite information in the human body, while maintaining spatial resolution, improve the specificity of the detection of physiological and pathological processes, and is currently the only technology that can non-invasive quantitative analysis of human dynamic molecular metabolism in vivo.

With the deepening of multi-core MR Research, it has broad application prospects in the early screening and diagnosis of tumors, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, endocrine system, digestive system and respiratory system diseases, and rapid evaluation of treatment process. Philips’ latest multi-core clinical research platform will help imaging and clinical doctors carry out cutting-edge clinical research. Dr. Sun Peng and Dr. Wang Jiazheng from Philips Clinical and Technical Support Department gave a detailed introduction to the cutting-edge development of multi-NMR and the research direction of Philips’ new multi-core MR Platform.

Magnetic resonance has won the Nobel Prize five times in its history, across the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine, and has achieved great success in basic physics principles, organic molecular structure, biological macromolecular structure dynamics, and clinical medical imaging. Among them, magnetic resonance imaging has become one of the most important clinical medical imaging technologies, widely used in the diagnosis of various diseases in various parts of the human body. With the continuous improvement of health care needs, the huge demand for early diagnosis and rapid efficacy evaluation is promoting the development of magnetic resonance imaging from traditional structural imaging (T1w, T2w, PDw, etc.), functional imaging (DWI, PWI, etc.) to molecular imaging (1H MRS And multi-core MRS/MRI).

The complex background of 1H based MR Technology, overlapping spectra, and water/fat compression limit its space as a molecular imaging technology. Only a limited number of molecules (choline, creatine, NAA, etc.) can be detected, and it is difficult to obtain dynamic molecular metabolic processes. Based on a variety of nuclides (23Na, 31P, 13C, 129Xe, 17O, 7Li, 19F, 3H, 2H), multi-nuclear MR Can obtain a variety of metabolite information of the human body, with high resolution and high specificity, and is currently the only non-invasive (stable isotope, no radioactivity; Labelling of endogenous metabolites (glucose, amino acids, fatty acids – non-toxic) for quantitative analysis of human dynamic molecular metabolic processes.

With the continuous breakthroughs in magnetic resonance hardware system, fast sequence method (Multi-Band, Spiral) and acceleration algorithm (compressed sensing, deep learning), multi-core MR Imaging/spectroscopy is gradually mature: (1) it is expected to become an important tool for cutting-edge molecular biology, biochemistry and human metabolism research; (2) As it moves from scientific research to clinical practice (a number of clinical trials based on multi-core MR Are in progress, FIG. 1), it has broad prospects in the early screening and diagnosis of cancer, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, digestive and respiratory diseases, and rapid efficacy evaluation.

Due to the complex physical principles and high technical difficulty of the MR Field, multi-core MR Has been a unique research area of a few top engineering research institutions. Although multicore MR Has made significant progress after decades of development, there is still a lack of sufficient clinical data to advance this field to truly serve patients.

Based on persistent innovation in the field of MR, Philips finally broke the development bottleneck of multi-core MR And released a new clinical research platform with the most nuclides in the industry. The platform is the only multi-core system in the world to receive EU Safety Conformity Certification (CE) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) certification, enabling a product-level full-stack multi-core MR Solution: FDA-approved coils, full sequence coverage, and operator station standard reconstruction. Users do not need to be equipped with professional magnetic resonance physicists, code engineers and RF gradient designers, which is easier than traditional 1H spectroscopy/imaging. Maximize the reduction of multi-core MR Operating costs, free switch between scientific research and clinical mode, the fastest cost recovery, so that multi-core MR Truly into the clinic.

Multi-core MR Is now the key direction of the “14th Five-Year Medical Equipment Industry Development Plan”, and is a key core technology for medical imaging to break through the routine and combine with cutting-edge biomedicine. Philips China scientists team, driven by improving customers’ scientific research and innovation capabilities, conducted systematic research on multi-core MR. Dr. Sun Peng, Dr. Wang Jiazheng et al. first proposed the concept of MR-nucleomics in NMR in Biomedicine (top Journal of the First Region of Spectroscopy of Chinese Academy of Sciences), which can use MR Based on different nuclides to observe a variety of cell functions and pathological processes. Thus, comprehensive judgment and evaluation of disease and treatment can be made [1]. The concept of MR Multinucleomics will be the future direction of MR Development. This paper is the first systematic review of multi-core MR In the world, covering the theoretical basis of multi-core MR, pre-clinical research, clinical transformation, hardware development, algorithm progress, engineering practice and other aspects (Figure 2). At the same time, the team of scientists collaborated with Professor Song Bin of West China Hospital to complete the first review article on the clinical transformation of multi-core MR In China, which was published in the journal Insights into Imaging [2]. The publication of a series of articles on multicore MR Shows that Philips truly brings the frontier of multicore molecular imaging to China, to Chinese customers, and to Chinese patients. In line with the core concept of “in China, for China”, Philips will use multi-core MR To promote the development of China’s magnetic resonance and help the cause of healthy China.

Multi-nuclear MRI is an emerging technology. With the development of MR Software and hardware, multi-nuclear MRI has been applied to basic and clinical translational research of human systems. Its unique advantage is that it can display real-time dynamic metabolic processes in different pathological processes, thus providing possibilities for early diagnosis of diseases, efficacy evaluation, treatment decision making and drug development. It may even help to explore new mechanisms of pathogenesis.

In order to promote the further development of this field, the active participation of clinical experts is needed. The clinicalization development of multicore platforms is crucial, including the construction of basic systems, the standardization of technologies, the quantification and standardization of results, the exploration of new probes, the integration of multiple metabolic information, etc., in addition to the development of more prospective multicenter trials, so as to further promote the clinical transformation of advanced multicore MR Technology. We firmly believe that multi-core MR Will provide a broad stage for imaging and clinical experts to carry out clinical research, and its results will benefit patients around the world.