VirtualScopics, a provider of clinical trial imaging solutions, has announced the company is making scientific and operational investments in magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). The emerging technique combines magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and low-frequency mechanical waves to provide quantifiable measurements of liver stiffness, an indicator of liver disease and fibrosis. The company was recently awarded two new projects to support pharmaceutical companies by integrating MRE into their global, multi-site clinical trials.
First approved by the FDA in 2009, MRE has grown in popularity due to its high sensitivity and ability to noninvasively evaluate liver fibrosis.
“We are seeing a growing demand for this relatively new technology to be implemented in clinical trials as a means to quantitatively characterize liver stiffness,” said Edward Ashton, PhD, chief scientific officer at VirtualScopics. “VirtualScopics has been working closely with academic and industry leaders in the MRI field to develop our own MRE acquisition and analysis techniques. Our efforts are putting us in the unparalleled position to offer our customers seamless implementation of MRE in their trials.”
A white paper titled “Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE) of Liver Disease” by Jennifer Dolan Fox, PhD, an imaging scientist at VirtualScopics, is also available for download under the Educational Resources section of the company’s website.
