Research Tools
Quantitative Image Analysis available globally in an investigational setting
Quantitative Iron Assessment in Other Organs
Resonance Health has a suite of ‘for investigational use only’ tools. These tools have been developed inhouse and in accordance with our quality management processes and procedures. These tools do not yet have regulatory clearance and are therefore available for ‘research or investigational use only’.
Quantitative Image Analysis available globally in an investigational setting:
- Quantitative Iron Assessment in Other Organs – surrogate iron measurements (R2 / R2*) in other organs including pancreas, spleen, and kidney;
- Brain iron – several brain iron imaging protocols to quantify iron deposition in various regions of the brain such as leptomeninges, basal ganglia, etc;
- Pancreatic Fat Assessment– quantitative assessment of pancreatic fat;
- Visceral / Subcutaneous Fat and Organ Fat in Metabolic Disease – quantitative assessments of visceral fat, subcutaneous fat, epicardial fat;
- Fibrosis and Inflammation – a combination of MRI measures to assess liver fibrosis and inflammation;
- Liver Biopsy – Stereology Services– quantitative assessment of hepatic steatosis of digitised biopsies using stereology;
- Organ Volume Measurements – measurements of various organs such as the liver and spleen;
- Other – customised design protocols on an as required basis. Examples include protocols to assess tracer entry into cells (eg. gadolinium) to attempt to monitor drug delivery; novel cardiac imaging protocols; and many others.
Stereology Services - Liver Biopsy
Resonance Health can provide a quantitative assessment of hepatic steatosis of digitised biopsies using stereology. Stereology offers multiple key advantages:
- Stereology is a non-biased method that delivers a standardised assessment of steatosis from biopsies. In particular, this can add value in circumstances where more than one histopathologist is engaged across multiple study sites. As histopathological scoring for a given biopsy can vary between experts, stereology can provide a means to ascertain the extent of bias.
- Stereology can be applied retrospectively to analyse archived biopsy data originating from completed studies so as to determine if a ‘drug effect’ has been obscured because of disparate assessments from expert histopathologists.
- As stereology is used to determine the number of hepatocytes with fat vesicles (macrovesicular/microvesicular steatosis) within a liver biopsy, its findings are reported as a volumetric liver fat fraction (VLFF), and can be directly compared to the HepaFat-Scan measurements.
It should be noted that stereology can potentially be applied to the non-biased assessment of other disease related markers, including fibrosis, hepatocyte ballooning, and neutrophil infiltration. In view of the potential for the unbiased assessment of these clinically important biomarkers of liver disease, Resonance Health are currently pursuing methodologies to optimise this process.
Visceral, Subcutaneous, and Organ Fat in Metabolic Disease
A hallmark in the establishment of metabolic disease is the deposition of abnormal fat within and around organs and muscle tissue. In view of this, Resonance Health has developed imaging modalities that can provide quantitative assessments of visceral fat, subcutaneous fat, and epicardial fat. Such data can be used for the purposes of natural history studies, baseline assessments, and for the monitoring of drug-related effects.
Given the links between hepatic steatosis, diabetes, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, Resonance Health has developed a number of investigational imaging tools to quantify the presence of fat within tissues such as pancreas, kidney, and skeletal muscle.
Organ Volume Measurements
Volume measurements of various organs such as liver and spleen for use in identifying disease states or tracking change over time as result of treatment.
Customized Imaging Solutions
Our team of physicists is able to design protocols on an as required basis, please discuss your specific requirements with us. Examples include protocols to assess tracer entry into cells (eg. Gadolinium) to attempt to monitor drug delivery; novel cardiac imaging protocols; and many others.
Research Services and Collaborations
In recognising the changing needs of the clinical community and healthcare industry, Resonance Health remains committed to the development of novel, clinically relevant imaging modalities. As such, our team of scientists and academics are available to assist our pharmaceutical partners in the development of customised imaging solutions to maximise the return on their clinical trial investment.