Vanderbilt lands $3.4M NCI grant to advance MR cytometry for breast cancer imaging

Vanderbilt Health, with Philips, received a $3.4M NCI grant to study MR cytometry, an advanced diffusion MRI technique that noninvasively measures tumor cell size and density, potentially complementing biopsy.

• The five-year Academic-Industrial Partnership grant will integrate the technique into clinical MRI systems and evaluate its ability to provide microstructural information not available with conventional MRI.
• MR cytometry uses oscillating gradient diffusion imaging to measure water molecule movement at micrometer-scale lengths, estimating cell size and density without tissue sampling.
• The project aims to establish quality controls and determine whether the technology can be reliably deployed in broader clinical settings.

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