New imaging agent provides better picture of the gut

Applying a method that uses nanoparticles to create visual contrast, a researcher created the above photoacoustic image of a mouse intestine. The colors indicate the depth of the intestine (red: deep; blue: shallow). Photo: Jonathan Lovell A multi-institutional team of researchers has developed a new nanoscale agent for imaging the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. This safe, noninvasive method for assessing the function and properties of the GI tract in real time could lead to better diagnosis and treatment of gut diseases. Illnesses such as small bowel bacterial overgrowth, irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease all occur in the intestine and can lead to serious side effects in patients with diseases such as diabetes and Parkinson's. Until now, there hasn't been a good way to functionally image the intestine. However, in a paper published on July 6 Nanotechnology , the researchers demonstrated that through a complementary approach using photoacoustic imaging and positron emission tomography (PET), they have created a multimodal functional imaging agent that could be used to perform noninvasive functional imaging of the intestine in real time.