REDiRECt-Gd
Scheda del progetto
Università degli Studi di Torino
RTD-A - Eleonora Cavallari
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is one of the most powerful clinical imaging techniques for diagnosing various diseases such as cancer, neurological diseases, metabolic diseases and cardiovascular diseases. Approximately 40% of MRI scans use Gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCA) to enhance diagnostic information and detect pathological tissue. In Europe, more than 25 million MRI scans are performed per year, of which about 10 million use GBCA (a quarter of the world total). GBCAs are excreted from the human body through urine and end up in city sewers.
- Design new MRI sequences to reduce the dose of Gd administered to patients during clinical analysis, also making MRI more informative in diagnostic terms.
- Develop a protocol for recovering Gd from patient urine, thus reducing disposal in sewage systems and environmental contamination.
Wastewater treatment systems fail to remove gadolinium, so about 400 tonnes of Gd per year end up in environmental waters (rivers, lakes, seas) in Europe, accumulating mainly in large cities near hospitals. This environmental contamination has a serious impact on aquatic flora and fauna, interfering with various biochemical processes.
This proposal requires an interdisciplinary team with expertise in chemistry, biotechnology, molecular imaging, radiology and image analysis, all of which are present in the proposed project team.
The proposed results aim to have an impact in terms of both human health (improved diagnosis) and the environment (reduced Gd contamination).
In this sense, the beneficiaries will be cancer patients in the first instance, followed by medical and hospital staff and, finally, the whole population for a better environmental benefit.