Diagnostic magnetometry using superparamagnetic particles

• US 5,384,109 A
• Filed: 11/06/1992
• Issued: 01/24/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: GE Healthcare As (GE Healthcare Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Nycomed Imaging AS (GE Healthcare Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Klaveness, Jo, Ege, Thorfinn, Rocklage, Scott M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hollinden, Gary E.
• Application Number:
  US07/930,521
• Time in Patent Office: 809 Days
• Field of Search: 424/9, 324/248, 128/653.1, 128/653.4, 128/654, 436/173, 514/54, 514/60, 423/632, 423/633, 428/549
• US Class Current: 424/9.3
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 49/085 conjugated systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 49/103 the complex-forming compound being acyclic, e.g. DTPA
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 49/106 the complex-forming compound being cyclic, e.g. DOTA
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 49/126 Linear polymers, e.g. dextran, inulin, PEG
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 49/16 Antibodies; Immunoglobulins; Fragments thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 49/18 characterised by a special physical form, e.g. emulsions, microcapsules, liposomes
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 49/1812 liposomes, polymersomes, e.g. immunoliposomes
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 49/1854 the organic macromolecular compound being obtained by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds, e.g. poly(meth)acrylate, polyacrylamide, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyvinylalcohol
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 49/1863 the organic macromolecular compound being a polysaccharide or derivative thereof, e.g. chitosan, chitin, cellulose, pectin, starch
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 49/1875 coated or functionalised with an antibody
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 49/20 containing free radicals , e.g. trityl radical for overhauser
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 436/806 Electrical property or magnetic property
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/24 Nuclear magnetic resonance, electron spin resonance or other spin effects or mass spectrometry

Abstract

The use of superparamagnetic particles and of paramagnetic materials (such as lanthanide chelates) as contrast agents in magnetometric analysis, especially imaging, and in particular structural and functional, diagnosis or imaging is described.

Claims

1. A method of generating a magnetometric image of the human or non-human animal body comprising administering to said body a physiologically tolerable superparamagnetic material and generating a magnetometric signal of at least part of said body into which said material distributes.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said signal is a magnetometric image of at least part of said body into which said material distributes.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein said image generated is a two or three dimensional structural image.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said signal is generated using a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein said signal is generated using a multichannel SQUID system.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a superparamagnetic material is used as a magnetometric diagnostic (MD) agent with no pre-magnetization thereof and no magnetic field or with a static magnetic field being imposed during signal generation.

7. A process for detecting variations in magnetic susceptibility within a human or non-human animal body, comprising administering to said body a physiologically tolerable superparamagnetic material, and with a magnetometer continuously or repeatedly monitoring the magnetic susceptibility of at least a part of said body into which said material distributes.

8. A process as claimed in claim 7 comprising generating a magnetometric image.

9. A process as claimed in claim 7, wherein said magnetometer is a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer.

10. A process as claimed in claim 9, wherein said magnetometer is a multichannel SQUID system.

11. The process as claimed in claim 7, wherein a superparamagnetic material is used as a magnetometric diagnostic (MD) agent with no pre-magnetization thereof and no magnetic field or with a static magnetic field being imposed during signal generation.