Magnetic Particle Imaging in Human Subjects

preprint OA: closed CC-BY-4.0
📄 Open PDF Full text JSON View at publisher
AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-07, 2026-07-03 · read from full text

This preprint studies whether magnetic particle imaging (MPI)—a tracer-based modality that detects magnetic nanoparticles with no background tissue signal—can be performed in human subjects, and what technical requirements are needed for translation from animals to people. Two human subjects received a magnetic tracer via subcutaneous injection in the scalp and foot, and investigators report quantitative, longitudinal visualization of lymphatic drainage for up to six months, supported by validation in a mouse model, with performance benchmarked against SPECT using lymphatic system phantom models. A major limitation is that the study includes only two subjects and required development and verification of a novel clinical imager, including magnetostimulation threshold testing for all magnetic fields used in imaging sequences. Relevance to endometriosis: the paper does not explicitly discuss endometriosis or adenomyosis; it was included in the corpus via a keyword match in the upstream search index.

Read from the paper's body, not the abstract. Not a substitute for reading the paper. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

Abstract Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) is a tracer-based medical imaging modality that detects magnetic nanoparticles with no background tissue signal. MPI acquires quantitative, high-sensitivity tomographic images of shelf-stable magnetic tracers that safely produce signals in vivo for weeks or even months. These features can fill capability gaps in medical imaging for applications benefiting from tracer specificity with an extended imaging window. Despite two decades of preclinical validation and multiple published human-scale imagers, MPI has not previously been demonstrated in human subjects. Here we report MPI imaging in two subjects following subcutaneous administration of magnetic tracer in the scalp and foot. Our results showed quantitative and longitudinal visualization of lymphatic drainage for up to six months, with supporting validation in a mouse model. Imaging in human subjects required the development and verification of a novel clinical imager, including magnetostimulation threshold testing of all magnetic fields used in imaging sequences. To understand MPI in the context of existing medical imaging technologies, we benchmarked MPI imaging performance against SPECT using lymphatic system phantom models. These findings demonstrate that MPI can translate from animals to human subjects, and establish MPI as a new tool for longitudinal tracer imaging in medicine. The addition of MPI to the clinical imaging toolbox could enable new approaches and capabilities for diagnosis, real-time interventions, and treatment monitoring across a broad range of clinical applications.
Full text 17,764 characters · extracted from preprint-html · click to expand
Magnetic Particle Imaging in Human Subjects | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Magnetic Particle Imaging in Human Subjects Erica Mason, Olivia Sehl, Marcela Weyhmiller, Bryanna Davison, and 16 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8825005/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) is a tracer-based medical imaging modality that detects magnetic nanoparticles with no background tissue signal. MPI acquires quantitative, high-sensitivity tomographic images of shelf-stable magnetic tracers that safely produce signals in vivo for weeks or even months. These features can fill capability gaps in medical imaging for applications benefiting from tracer specificity with an extended imaging window. Despite two decades of preclinical validation and multiple published human-scale imagers, MPI has not previously been demonstrated in human subjects. Here we report MPI imaging in two subjects following subcutaneous administration of magnetic tracer in the scalp and foot. Our results showed quantitative and longitudinal visualization of lymphatic drainage for up to six months, with supporting validation in a mouse model. Imaging in human subjects required the development and verification of a novel clinical imager, including magnetostimulation threshold testing of all magnetic fields used in imaging sequences. To understand MPI in the context of existing medical imaging technologies, we benchmarked MPI imaging performance against SPECT using lymphatic system phantom models. These findings demonstrate that MPI can translate from animals to human subjects, and establish MPI as a new tool for longitudinal tracer imaging in medicine. The addition of MPI to the clinical imaging toolbox could enable new approaches and capabilities for diagnosis, real-time interventions, and treatment monitoring across a broad range of clinical applications. Health sciences/Medical research/Translational research Health sciences/Health care/Medical imaging Physical sciences/Engineering/Biomedical engineering Physical sciences/Engineering/Electrical and electronic engineering Physical sciences/Physics/Techniques and instrumentation/Imaging techniques Full Text Additional Declarations Yes there is potential Competing Interest. At the time of the study, all authors employed by Magnetic Insight, Inc. were stockholders in the company. Magnetic Insight, Inc. is no longer in business at the time of manuscript submission. Supplementary Files SV1.mp4 Supplementary Video SV1 SV2.mp4 Supplementary Video SV2 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8825005","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":606236525,"identity":"8e043312-786e-4dcf-bc79-ed3e3e724ce8","order_by":0,"name":"Erica Mason","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABAUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACxgZkNrMciD7wgBQtxmAtCSTYyJwINgGfFn7pw40ffjBsk5dv7z3AXLjDOn1+2OGHQFvs5HQbsGuR7EtsluxhuG244cy5BOaZZ9JzN95OMwBqSTY2O4Bdi8EZxjYGHobbjBskcgyYedsO526cnQDSciBxGw4t9kAtjH8YbtvPnwHRkm44O/0DXi0GPIxtzEBbEhtuQLQkyEvn4LdF4gxjs7SMwe3kDWfOGBye2ZZuuEE6p+BAggFuv/D3sD/8+Kbitu389h7Dx4Vt1vLys9M3f/hQYSeHSwvUeRDqMJh9AEmEIGAGEfINRKoeBaNgFIyCEQMAUK1gwY+AWEsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7002-3599","institution":"Magnetic Insight, Inc.","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Erica","middleName":"","lastName":"Mason","suffix":""},{"id":606236526,"identity":"aec2f83e-fce2-41db-87ce-1942fc7ac8b1","order_by":1,"name":"Olivia Sehl","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Magnetic Insight, Inc. and Western University, Robarts Research Institute","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Olivia","middleName":"","lastName":"Sehl","suffix":""},{"id":606236527,"identity":"f5e9a2e8-a1b8-45e8-b751-0b1a13d8f138","order_by":2,"name":"Marcela Weyhmiller","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Magnetic Insight, Inc.","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Marcela","middleName":"","lastName":"Weyhmiller","suffix":""},{"id":606236528,"identity":"f84b791e-34ae-4cfc-8323-94ba8e979dd7","order_by":3,"name":"Bryanna Davison","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Magnetic Insight, Inc.","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bryanna","middleName":"","lastName":"Davison","suffix":""},{"id":606236529,"identity":"1c0b6ba9-de11-4869-84d8-4ede8c562a85","order_by":4,"name":"Eli Mattingly","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Magnetic Insight, Inc.","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Eli","middleName":"","lastName":"Mattingly","suffix":""},{"id":606236530,"identity":"fee26ca2-59e5-4d17-99bf-d4f8b1fa8ede","order_by":5,"name":"Justin Konkle","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1198-049X","institution":"Magnetic Insight, Inc.","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Justin","middleName":"","lastName":"Konkle","suffix":""},{"id":606236531,"identity":"a7307773-9619-4b39-bda6-ef9ea3084d19","order_by":6,"name":"Toby Sanders","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Magnetic Insight, Inc.","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Toby","middleName":"","lastName":"Sanders","suffix":""},{"id":606236532,"identity":"4ab6ac85-e787-47fa-970b-8b0410c21eab","order_by":7,"name":"A. Mohtasebzadeh","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Magnetic Insight, Inc.","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"A.","middleName":"","lastName":"Mohtasebzadeh","suffix":""},{"id":606236533,"identity":"d625652a-6d92-44c4-bbaf-86848e0cfcac","order_by":8,"name":"Elliott Barcikowski","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Magnetic Insight, Inc.","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Elliott","middleName":"","lastName":"Barcikowski","suffix":""},{"id":606236534,"identity":"11ee2b9b-5ee7-4a12-a060-ce17ecc0f3e7","order_by":9,"name":"Kyle Fields","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Magnetic Insight, Inc.","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kyle","middleName":"","lastName":"Fields","suffix":""},{"id":606236535,"identity":"77c177ad-f840-44f6-b985-bfb645929b58","order_by":10,"name":"Chris Raanes","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Magnetic Insight, Inc.","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chris","middleName":"","lastName":"Raanes","suffix":""},{"id":606236536,"identity":"1666f6c7-ee61-4bbe-b032-d3f29cd4ca4f","order_by":11,"name":"Nitara Fernando","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Western University, Robarts Research Institute","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nitara","middleName":"","lastName":"Fernando","suffix":""},{"id":606236537,"identity":"f0ff1d03-8d9a-4b07-b4c3-95feafd03769","order_by":12,"name":"Carlos Rinaldi-Ramos","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8886-5612","institution":"University of Florida, Department of Chemical Engineering and J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Carlos","middleName":"","lastName":"Rinaldi-Ramos","suffix":""},{"id":606236538,"identity":"4e7647f1-1ed9-4991-8095-8d62a1f14677","order_by":13,"name":"Osama Mawlawi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Imaging Physics","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Osama","middleName":"","lastName":"Mawlawi","suffix":""},{"id":606236539,"identity":"fa7ef2eb-f21e-4910-a68e-fb085f85fa6e","order_by":14,"name":"Paula Foster","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Western University, Robarts Research Institute","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Paula","middleName":"","lastName":"Foster","suffix":""},{"id":606236540,"identity":"bf2bd1f3-922d-45eb-9e70-64f1fa707891","order_by":15,"name":"Andreas Loening","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3316-7467","institution":"Stanford University, Department of Radiology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Andreas","middleName":"","lastName":"Loening","suffix":""},{"id":606236541,"identity":"056b380f-d4a2-4778-98e8-5c811f73736e","order_by":16,"name":"Eric Padua","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Magnetic Insight, Inc.","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Eric","middleName":"","lastName":"Padua","suffix":""},{"id":606236542,"identity":"85c2e784-2ff6-45c8-803f-b3722a554f6f","order_by":17,"name":"Stephan Lai","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Stephan","middleName":"","lastName":"Lai","suffix":""},{"id":606236543,"identity":"59f27435-018a-480a-b820-9ab631e30abe","order_by":18,"name":"Max Wintermark","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Neuroradiology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Max","middleName":"","lastName":"Wintermark","suffix":""},{"id":606236544,"identity":"5c9bf49d-3425-4332-97e7-81b33a5de05f","order_by":19,"name":"Patrick Goodwill","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4240-1956","institution":"Magnetic Insight, Inc.","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Patrick","middleName":"","lastName":"Goodwill","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-09 02:30:23","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8825005/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8825005/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105562811,"identity":"e27ea3c4-278e-4b1d-bea2-9b160e028b03","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 12:44:49","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":3683853,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"MPIinHumanSubjects0208.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8825005/v1_covered_c94bd489-f241-4483-bbc3-d4195385ccc4.pdf"},{"id":104807617,"identity":"3df4a493-a97e-4fe4-b020-e5dbd7f307f5","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-17 12:07:19","extension":"mp4","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":16356714,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Supplementary Video SV1","description":"","filename":"SV1.mp4","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8825005/v1/9fd82eb7d931100e94bf922a.mp4"},{"id":104807618,"identity":"61b88311-eb87-4fa6-9707-4f7077770f20","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-17 12:07:19","extension":"mp4","order_by":2,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":12920664,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Supplementary Video SV2","description":"","filename":"SV2.mp4","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8825005/v1/309240cf90067688650a2ff8.mp4"}],"financialInterests":"\u003cb\u003eYes\u003c/b\u003e there is potential Competing Interest.\nAt the time of the study, all authors employed by Magnetic Insight, Inc. were stockholders in the company. Magnetic Insight, Inc. is no longer in business at the time of manuscript submission.","formattedTitle":"Magnetic Particle Imaging in Human Subjects","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8825005/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8825005/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) is a tracer-based medical imaging modality that detects magnetic nanoparticles with no background tissue signal. MPI acquires quantitative, high-sensitivity tomographic images of shelf-stable magnetic tracers that safely produce signals in vivo for weeks or even months. These features can fill capability gaps in medical imaging for applications benefiting from tracer specificity with an extended imaging window. Despite two decades of preclinical validation and multiple published human-scale imagers, MPI has not previously been demonstrated in human subjects. Here we report MPI imaging in two subjects following subcutaneous administration of magnetic tracer in the scalp and foot. Our results showed quantitative and longitudinal visualization of lymphatic drainage for up to six months, with supporting validation in a mouse model. Imaging in human subjects required the development and verification of a novel clinical imager, including magnetostimulation threshold testing of all magnetic fields used in imaging sequences. To understand MPI in the context of existing medical imaging technologies, we benchmarked MPI imaging performance against SPECT using lymphatic system phantom models. These findings demonstrate that MPI can translate from animals to human subjects, and establish MPI as a new tool for longitudinal tracer imaging in medicine. The addition of MPI to the clinical imaging toolbox could enable new approaches and capabilities for diagnosis, real-time interventions, and treatment monitoring across a broad range of clinical applications.","manuscriptTitle":"Magnetic Particle Imaging in Human Subjects","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-17 12:07:14","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8825005/v1","editorialEvents":[],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"1cbf9e6b-6153-44aa-b440-7908ed1c805e","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 17th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":64515471,"name":"Health sciences/Medical research/Translational research"},{"id":64515472,"name":"Health sciences/Health care/Medical imaging"},{"id":64515473,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering/Biomedical engineering"},{"id":64515474,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering/Electrical and electronic engineering"},{"id":64515475,"name":"Physical sciences/Physics/Techniques and instrumentation/Imaging techniques"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-24T17:45:49+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-17 12:07:14","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8825005","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8825005","identity":"rs-8825005","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}

Text is read by the "Ask this paper" AI Q&A widget below. Extraction quality varies by source — PMC NXML preserves structure cleanly, OA-HTML may include some navigation residue, and OA-PDF can have broken hyphenation. The publisher copy (via DOI) is the canonical version.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Ask this paper AI returns verbatim quotes from the full text · source: preprint-html

Answers must be backed by verbatim quotes from this paper's full text. Hallucinated quotes are dropped automatically; if no verbatim passage answers the question, we say so. How this works

Citation neighborhood (no data yet)

We don't have any in-corpus citations linked to this paper yet. This is a recent paper (2026) — citers typically take a year or two to land, and the OpenAlex reference graph may still be filling in.

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-05-20T01:45:00.602351+00:00
unpaywall
last seen: 2026-05-24T02:00:01.246996+00:00
License: CC-BY-4.0