Quantum leap in MRI scanning: New technology to strengthen early cancer diagnostics

A new research project aims to make it possible to see cancer activity before the disease can be detected with conventional scans. The goal is to bring a new type of quantum-enhanced MRI technology into the clinic, giving doctors a completely new tool to detect and treat cancer in time. Innovation Fund Denmark is investing 40 million DKK in the project.

Cancer is often detected too late. While standard MRI scans are good at showing the size and location of a tumor, they miss metabolic activity that reveals how aggressive the disease is or whether a treatment is working. A new research project, MIRAQLE, aims to change that.

With an investment from Innovation Fund Denmark, researchers from the MR Research Centre, Aarhus University and NVision Imaging Technologies will develop a new type of MRI platform that can visualize cancer metabolism. By enhancing the contrast agent's MRI signal, metabolic activity can become visible during a routine MRI scan. This could make it possible to detect serious disease earlier and monitor treatment effects much more precisely than is currently possible.

Special focus on liver cancer

The new research project has a particular focus on liver cancer, where it can be difficult for doctors to distinguish between benign changes and early-stage liver cancer. Many patients are currently only diagnosed when the disease is advanced. With the new technology, doctors will not only be able to detect the disease earlier, but also assess how aggressive it is.

Cancer cells metabolize sugar differently than healthy tissue, and NVision Imaging Technologies makes this activity visible.

- We are honored to support Denmark's ambition to bring quantum-enhanced MRI into routine clinical use in partnership with Aarhus University, says Sella Brosh, CEO of NVision Imaging Technologies.

"We will be able to see how the cancer behaves, not just where it is. This can change the feedback cycle from months to days and thus have a decisive impact on when and how patients are treated," says Professor Christoffer Laustsen, project leader and head of the MRI Research Center at Aarhus University.

Up to 100,000 times more sensitive

The new technology is based on quantum physics and can make MRI scans up to 100,000 times more sensitive than those available today. This means that even very small changes at the cellular level can be detected. At the same time, the scan is performed completely without radioactive radiation – unlike many current methods used in cancer diagnostics.

The technology is being developed for use in regular hospitals and integration into existing MRI scanners. The project ranges from laboratory research to clinical testing and will culminate in the first scans of patients.

Strengthens Danish healthcare and quantum technology

In addition to improving cancer diagnostics, MIRAQLE aims to strengthen Denmark's position within both health technology and quantum technology. The project brings together researchers, clinicians and companies in close collaboration and will establish a Danish center for the new scanning technology.

The ambition is clear: to provide doctors with a better basis for decisions, patients with more targeted treatment, and society with more effective and less burdensome cancer diagnostics.

Facts

• Innovation Fund's investment: DKK 40 million.
• Total budget: DKK 51.5 million.
• Duration: 5 years
• Official title: MIRAQLE – Quantum-enhanced MRI for real-time metabolic imaging
• The project is being created in collaboration with NVision Imaging Technologies

About the partners

Aarhus University

Aarhus University is an international leader in the development and clinical application of advanced MRI technologies. The university's researchers work closely with hospitals and clinicians to quickly and safely bring new scanning techniques from research to clinical use for patients.

NVision Imaging Technologies

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Ulm, Germany, NVision Imaging Technologies leverages advances in quantum physics to enable real-time visualization of metabolism on standard MRI, with the ambition to set a new standard for faster drug development, earlier diagnosis, and better treatment decisions.