Studying Atherosclerosis Macrophage Dynamics by Combined PET and Fluorine-MRI

NARRATIVE Seminal preclinical work and studies in patients indicate that atherosclerosis progression and the onset of cardiovascular events, such as myocardial infarction and stroke, are mediated by the complex trafficking of immune cells between the arterial vessel wall and hematopoietic organs. To improve our understanding of these complex processes, we propose to use a combination of fluorine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) to collectively map atherosclerosis macrophage dynamics in vivo and non-invasively. In the future these techniques may be translated to study the immunological impact of cardiovascular disease triggers such as stroke and myocardial infarction, and for a more comprehensive assessment of cardiovascular risk profile.