Lin Feng, Prince Martin R, Spincemaille Pascal, Wang Yi
School of Law, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Department of Radiology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, United States.
Recent Pat Biotechnol. 2019;13(2):90-113. doi: 10.2174/1872208313666181217112745.
Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) depicts biodistributions of tissue magnetic susceptibility sources, including endogenous iron and calcifications, as well as exogenous paramagnetic contrast agents and probes. When comparing QSM with simple susceptibility weighted MRI, QSM eliminates blooming artifacts and shows reproducible tissue susceptibility maps independent of field strength and scanner manufacturer over a broad range of image acquisition parameters. For patient care, QSM promises to inform diagnosis, guide surgery, gauge medication, and monitor drug delivery. The Bayesian framework using MRI phase data and structural prior knowledge has made QSM sufficiently robust and accurate for routine clinical practice.
To address the lack of a summary of US patents that is valuable for QSM product development and dissemination into the MRI community.
We searched the USPTO Full-Text and Image Database for patents relevant to QSM technology innovation. We analyzed the claims of each patent to characterize the main invented method and we investigated data on clinical utility.
We identified 17 QSM patents; 13 were implemented clinically, covering various aspects of QSM technology, including the Bayesian framework, background field removal, numerical optimization solver, zero filling, and zero-TE phase.
Our patent search identified patents that enable QSM technology for imaging the brain and other tissues. QSM can be applied to study a wide range of diseases including neurological diseases, liver iron disorders, tissue ischemia, and osteoporosis. MRI manufacturers can develop QSM products for more seamless integration into existing MRI scanners to improve medical care.
定量磁化率成像（QSM）描绘了组织磁化率源的生物分布，包括内源性铁和钙化，以及外源性顺磁性造影剂和探针。与简单的磁化率加权磁共振成像（MRI）相比，QSM消除了伪影，并在广泛的图像采集参数范围内显示出与场强和扫描仪制造商无关的可重复组织磁化率图。对于患者护理，QSM有望为诊断提供信息、指导手术、评估药物治疗并监测药物递送。利用MRI相位数据和结构先验知识的贝叶斯框架使QSM对于常规临床实践而言足够稳健和准确。
解决缺乏对QSM产品开发有价值且能在MRI领域传播的美国专利综述的问题。
我们在美国专利商标局全文和图像数据库中搜索与QSM技术创新相关的专利。我们分析了每项专利的权利要求以表征主要发明方法，并研究了临床效用数据。
我们确定了17项QSM专利；其中13项已在临床上实施，涵盖QSM技术的各个方面，包括贝叶斯框架、背景场去除、数值优化求解器、零填充和零回波时间相位。
我们的专利检索确定了能够实现QSM技术用于脑部和其他组织成像的专利。QSM可应用于研究多种疾病，包括神经疾病、肝铁紊乱、组织缺血和骨质疏松症。MRI制造商可以开发QSM产品，以便更无缝地集成到现有的MRI扫描仪中，从而改善医疗护理。
