“Advanced contrasts for vascular MRI”

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) often involves the administration of a contrast medium to obtain adequate images of the blood vessels. Despite its great advantages, the use of contrast medium is less suitable for new vascular molecular MRI techniques . Preclinical research presented in this thesis examines the usefulness of fluorine and iron oxide as alternative contrast media. The usefulness of fluorine-based contrast media for blood clot detection and, therefore, for assessing whether the blood clots can be treated, is studied. It is shown that important steps have to be taken in order for fluorine-based contrast media to be applicable in clinical settings. It is also shown that iron oxide allows the visualisation of vessel ingrowth into tumours, which is an indicator of the tumour being malignant. The thesis describes the imaging of iron oxide as a traditional contrast medium. Therefore, iron oxide is more suitable for use in clinical settings.