Artwork of MRI Contrast Agents (IMAGE)

California Institute of Technology

Artwork of MRI Contrast Agents

Caption

Caltech's Mikhail Shapiro and his colleagues have developed "erasable" MRI contrast agents that can blink off on command with ultrasound technology. As illustrated here, the contrast agents -- which consist of air-filled protein structures called gas vesicles -- give off magnetic signals. When hit with waves of sound, the gas vesicles collapse and their signals go away. This makes it easier for researchers to interpret MRI scans.

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Barth van Rossum for Caltech

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