EU grants $4.1M for MRI method to assess Crohns disease
The European Union has awarded researchers at Delft University of Technology a grant of EUR3 million ($4.1 million USD) to pursue a research proposal for developing a quantitative method on MRI for assessing Crohn's disease.
Currently affecting an estimated 700,000 Europeans, Crohn's is a chronic intestinal disease that is normally monitored via colonoscopy and biopsy. Because of the procedure's discomfort and the need for consistent monitoring, MRI is often used as an alternative to assess disease activity, although physicians lack objective evaluative criteria for the disease on MRI.
A group of researchers at Delft University of Technology in Delft, the Netherlands, led by Frans M. Vos, PhD, will attempt to develop a quantitative scale to categorize disease activity. This VIGOR++ group expects to consider intestinal wall thickness, degree of vascularization and distinctions between the various layers of the intestine as metrics. The researchers hope that strengthening the utility of MRI for the evaluation of Crohn's disease will result in fewer side effects and potentially lower costs for managing the disease.
Currently affecting an estimated 700,000 Europeans, Crohn's is a chronic intestinal disease that is normally monitored via colonoscopy and biopsy. Because of the procedure's discomfort and the need for consistent monitoring, MRI is often used as an alternative to assess disease activity, although physicians lack objective evaluative criteria for the disease on MRI.
A group of researchers at Delft University of Technology in Delft, the Netherlands, led by Frans M. Vos, PhD, will attempt to develop a quantitative scale to categorize disease activity. This VIGOR++ group expects to consider intestinal wall thickness, degree of vascularization and distinctions between the various layers of the intestine as metrics. The researchers hope that strengthening the utility of MRI for the evaluation of Crohn's disease will result in fewer side effects and potentially lower costs for managing the disease.