A group of researchers led by Western’s Andrea Soddu, and his Columbian colleague Francisco Gomez, has devised a method that allows them to interpret the functional MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) mapping of the brain in such a way as to provide diagnoses that were previously only available via 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET).

Such a new use for functional MRI would expand certain diagnoses to clinics which do not have access to a PET machine.  This can potentially save lives of patients who would previously not have had the diagnosis available to them.  This also translates into a money saver because the PET machine would not be needed for this particular diagnosis.

[see the full story at Western Media Relations]