FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT: Cathy RipleyU.Va. Health System Media Relations, 434-924-5679
U.VA. RECEIVES $3.7 MILLION GRANT TO FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF LUNG IMAGING PROCEDURE
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., June 13 -- More than 350,000 Americans die every year from lung disease, making it the nation's third leading killer. Finding an improved imaging technique to detect lung diseases, including asthma, emphysema and cystic fibrosis, at an earlier stage when treatment is more likely to be effective, is emerging through leading research by University of Virginia Health System professors.
James R. Brookeman, professor of radiology and biomedical engineering and John P. Mugler, III, associate professor of radiology and biomedical engineering, together with their clinical collaborators and graduate students, have pioneered the development of in-vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques that use new imaging agents called hyperpolarized noble gases. The procedure can detect subtle ventilation defects in the lung that are not visible with any other medical imaging procedure. The acquisition of the images requires only a short breath holding procedure that uses about a liter of a specially prepared gas such as helium or xenon, Brookeman said.
"U.Va. received a jump-start on the development this new medical imaging technology with critical early funding four years ago from Dr. Robert M. Carey, dean of the medical school," Brookeman said. "We have now completed over two hundred investigational human lung studies, more than any other center in the world. In the future we expect that this new technology will undoubtedly stimulate numerous applications in the medical field and beyond."
The researchers received a three-year grant in the amount of $3.7 million from a new state initiative and from Nycomed Amersham Imaging, a world-leader in in-vivo diagnostic imaging, to continue research efforts. The grant was awarded under the Industry Inducement Program of the Commonwealth Technology Research Fund from the Virginia Department of Planning and Budget in the amount of $1.8 million. The remaining $1.9 million was funded primarily by Nycomed Amersham Imaging. The grant will allow U.Va. to create a world-class center for this new type of medical imaging, Brookeman said. The center will be housed on the first floor of the Medical Research Building (MR4) and will serve as a training ground for scientists and pulmonary medicine specialists.
The economical impact of detecting and treating lung diseases earlier could be staggering, Brookeman said. Statistics from the American Lung Association show that emphysema, which affects over 2 million Americans, costs the U.S. healthcare system over $2.5 billion annually. More than 14 million people are affected by asthma with healthcare costs exceeding six billion dollars annually.
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