Philips Healthcare has initiated a German public-private consortium aimed at advancing the development of whole-body magnetic particle imaging (MPI) technology and preclinical hybrid imaging systems that combine MPI with MRI.
The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research has committed to providing 10.6 million euros ($14.2 million U.S.) to the consortium partners, with a total target consortium budget size of 20.3 million euros ($27.2 million U.S.), according to the Andover, MA-based vendor. The consortium will focus on two application areas: functional cardiovascular measurements (such as myocardial perfusion) and image-guidance of cardiovascular interventions (using interventional devices optimized for MPI guidance), Philips said.
In the instrumentation component of the consortium, Philips and the University of Lübeck in Lübeck, Germany, will focus on developing whole-body MPI demonstrators, while MRI developer Bruker of Billerica, MA, will aim to develop a simultaneous or consecutive preclinical MPI plus MRI capability, Philips said.
Proposed consortium partners Bayer Schering Pharma of Berlin; Miltenyi Biotec of Bergisch Gladbach, Germany; Charité Medical University in Berlin; and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Brunswick, Germany, will tackle tracer development, aiming to develop magnetic nanoparticle materials optimized for MPI, Philips said.
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