A non-invasive way to measure stroke damage. With that I bet someone innovative could come up with a 3d map of the damage, and then we could compare strokes against each other and how effective rehabilitation protocols are. May 2006 so according to their timeline they should have something useful by now.
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=23318&CultureCode=en
Development of a new technique for detecting brain damage caused by
stroke has been boosted up by a £1m grant to scientists at The
University of Manchester. Professor Gareth Morris of the School of
Chemistry and Professor Risto Kauppinen of the University of Birmingham
are to lead the development of a new non-invasive technique which
measures acidity (pH) in the brain.
A stroke is caused when part of the blood supply to the brain is cut
off. This causes acidity in the brain to build up, leading to damage.
CT scans are currently used to detect bleeding, swelling and tumours
in the brain, but the visibility of soft tissue is very limited, making
damage difficult to detect.
Professors Morris and Kauppinen will use advanced Nuclear Magnetic
Resonance (NMR) technologies to allow MRI scanners to create detailed
images of pH in the brain.
The images will be used to compare healthy (neutral, pH 7) and
damaged (acidic, lower pH) areas of the brain, and to measure how the pH
of the brain changes over time, with the aim of providing more targeted
and effective treatments.
Professor Morris said: “Within two to three years we hope to have
developed an NMR technique which can be translated into a machine that
can image acidity in the brain.
“If we can map stroke damage accurately, doctors will have a better
chance to provide more targeted and effective treatment. Current
techniques often only enable one to see damage once it is too late to
intervene.”
NMR will be used to measure the rate at which hydrogen ions are
exchanged between water and proteins in the brain. Acidity causes this
rate to increase, changing the NMR signal of water.
The grant, from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council, will fund three new NMR instruments in the university's School
of Chemistry, which is the second largest university Chemistry
department in the UK and one of the largest in Europe. The new
instruments will also support a wide range of other developments in
organic, inorganic and materials chemistry.
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