Long-term monitoring and guidance of tumor microenvironment and immunotherapy based on magnetic particle imaging

In life sciences research, the rise of novel therapeutic agents such as extracellular vesicles, nanoformulations or therapeutic cells (chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-expressing T or NK cells) are increasingly being explored in clinical settings, but many factors remain unknown, which unfortunately causes major problems. This varies from inefficient therapeutic efficacy and large proportions of non-responders to off-target effects of the therapeutic moiety. To further aid these developments, and in order to try and resolve the questions pertaining to these novel therapeutic modalities, there has been a strong focus on the improvement of non-invasive imaging methods for preclinical small animal studies.Here, we will focus on magnetic particle imaging (MPI) which offers to be a true game-changer in the field of preclinical imaging, where it allows for a highly sensitive, long-term follow-up (up to multiple months) of labeled entities that can be quantified without any loss of signal due to its location in the body. This technology is enabling scientists to answer many questions that could not be answered before. Here, we will focus on using MPI to monitor and quantify the distribution of CAR-NK cells and extracellular vesicles, to monitor and quantify inflammation, and to explore the efficacy of image-guided magnetic hyperthermia.

Keywords:preclinical imaging, adoptive cell transfer, image-guided therapy

Disciplines:Medical imaging and therapy not elsewhere classified

Project type:PhD project