Abstract #0212

Using 19F MR to Monitor Delivery and Engraftment of Therapeutic Stem Cells in Vivo: Accuracy Evaluation

Yibin Xie¹, Steven M. Shea², Yingli Fu³, Wesley D. Gilson², Tina Ehtiati², Ronald Ouwerkerk⁴, Dorota Kedziorek³, Meiyappan Solaiyappan³, Gary Huang³, Steffi Valdeig³, Frank Wacker³, Dara L. Kraitchman³

¹Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States; ²Center for Applied Medical Imaging, Siemens Research Corporate, Inc., Baltimore, MD, United States; ³Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States; ⁴National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States

The delivery and engraftment of therapeutic stem cells can be monitored by both ¹⁹F MRI and c-arm CT using alginate-poly-L-lysine-alginate microcapsules loaded with perfluorooctylbromide (APA-PFOB). MR tracking is advantageous for high sensitivity and absence of ionizing radiation. However it suffers from lower resolution. This study evaluates accuracy of tracking encapsulated mesenchymal stem cells using ¹⁹F MRI relative to c-arm CT. Results show a high identification and agreement in the spatial locations and volumes of the injection sites between MRI and CT demonstrating that MRI provides an accurate alternative to CT for tracking of encapsulated stem cells in vivo.