ALAMEDA, CA, October 11, 2022 – Magnetic Insight, the world leader in Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) technology, announced today that its latest Momentum™ MPI scanner has been installed at City of Hope, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States and a leading research center for diabetes and other life-threatening illnesses. The scanner will be housed at City of Hope’s pre-clinical research facilities in Los Angeles.
The new imaging system at City of Hope will be a resource to help accelerate discoveries for not only cancer but also diabetes and other life-threatening diseases by facilitating the studying of animal models. The Momentum™ MPI scanner enables preclinical testing of the imaging protocols and cell therapies being translated to clinical research applications by capturing pathophysiology currently invisible to traditional imaging techniques. While Magnetic Insight has shipped pre-clinical imagers worldwide, they are now scaling MPI technology to clinical scale. This new information lets MPI offer what no other imaging modality can: the ability to monitor a costly cell therapy directly and inform physicians on the best clinical management.
“Working with cancer research and treatment leaders such as City of Hope on animal models will help with the successful translation of MPI into the clinic,” said Patrick Goodwill, CEO, and Co-founder of Magnetic Insight. “In the future, the high-contrast images from MPI will enable clinicians to see where cell therapies are falling short in treating solid tumors and adjust treatment regimens accordingly.”
The goal is for City of Hope researchers to help develop MPI so that it could allow clinicians to directly image cell therapies following administration to inform clinical decision-making by capturing cellular-level information unavailable from conventional imaging modalities (CT, MRI, PET, or SPECT). This increased imaging ability includes cell therapy location, migration, persistence, and quantity, which are critical measures of whether a cell therapy is working or if cancer has escaped the immune system.
Brian Armstrong, Ph.D., Director of City of Hope’s Light Microscopy/Digital Imaging Core and a member of its Developmental and Stem Cell Biology research team, said, “To continue to be at the forefront of scientific innovation and leading-edge care, City of Hope researchers must have access to the latest imaging technology for their individual program needs. This new tool in our research facilities will help City of Hope bring the cures of tomorrow to the people who need them today.”
Founded in 1913, City of Hope was recently recognized as the seventh “Best Hospital” for cancer in the nation by U.S. News & World Report’s 2022-23 Best Hospitals: Specialty Ranking, marking the 16th consecutive year it has been distinguished as one of the nation’s elite cancer hospitals. City of Hope is a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, making it a national leader in advancing cancer research and treatment protocols.
