Patent ID: 9508256
Filing Date: 2016-11-29
CPC Classification: A61B,A61K,G01R,G08C

Claim Text:
1. A method, comprising: acquiring a baseline value for a magnetic resonance (MR) parameter from a region in a sample while the sample is not exposed to a molecular imaging agent that affects the MR parameter in the sample; acquiring a non-specific uptake value for the MR parameter while the sample is influenced by a non-specific molecular imaging agent that does not recognize a target material and where the non-specific molecular imaging agent may affect the MR parameter due to non-specific uptake of the non-specific molecular imaging agent; acquiring a specific uptake value for the MR parameter while the sample is influenced by a specific molecular imaging agent that does recognize the target material and where the specific molecular imaging agent may affect the MR parameter due to non-specific uptake of the specific molecular imaging agent and due to specific uptake of the specific molecular imaging agent, and characterizing the region as a function of the baseline value, the non-specific uptake value, and the specific uptake value, where the baseline value, the non-specific uptake value, and the specific uptake value are a function of magnetic resonance experienced in the sample as excited by an NMR apparatus, where non-specific uptake of the non-specific molecular imaging agent in an area that does not include the target material and non-specific uptake of the specific molecular imaging agent in an area that does not include target material do not produce a measurably different effect on the MR parameter, where specific uptake of the specific molecular imaging agent in an area that includes the target material and non-specific uptake of the non-specific molecular imaging agent in an area that does include the target material produce a measurably different effect on the MR parameter in the region, and where specific uptake of the specific molecular imaging agent in an area that includes the target material and non-specific uptake of the specific molecular imaging agent in an area that does not include the target material produce a measurably different effect on the MR parameter in the region.