Oral Magnetic Particles

Abstract

Oral magnetic particles (OMP) have been evaluated in a clinical phase 11 trial program comprising 216 patients in 7 European centers. Adult patients referred for MR imaging for various abdominal pathologies were examined. The patients received OMP at a concentration of 0.1 g/l (ultralow field) or 0.5 g/l (mid/high field) and OMP was diluted in water or in a more viscous liquid formulation. Depending on the area of interest, OMP was ingested in a volume of 300 to 800 ml. OMP was well tolerated with no serious adverse events and the patient acceptability was good. OMP had a good contrast effect on all applied pulse sequences. The viscous formulation of OMP was homogeneously distributed through the entire gastrointestinal tract without inducing disturbing susceptibility artifacts. The postcontrast diagnostic information was improved in 70% of the cases. Based on the encouraging results in phase 11, OMP has been advanced to phase 111 clinical trials.

The history of magnetic resonance imaging and its reflections in Acta Radiologica

“…Especially in the 1990s, superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) particles were used as an oral contrast medium to decrease the signal from the gastrointestinal tract on T2-weighted images (110). Intravenously injected SPIO particles have been used in liver imaging; the particles are ingested by the macrophages in the reticuloendothelial system, resulting in a decrease in the signal of the normal liver parenchyma, thus highlighting metastases (111).…”