Magnetic resonance imaging combined with techniques of quantification of the image allows to diagnose arthritis before symptoms occur.

-the quantification of Quirón Valencia team is a pioneer in the application of engineering techniques to magnetic resonance images

Valencia, December 2011.- these studies have been presented in the framework of the 12th Congress multimodality of the Association for the development and research in magnetic resonance held last Monday in Valencia and that every year it brings together prestigious specialists and researchers in different disciplines of clinical and technical areas offering valuable additional insights into the future challenges of different diseases.

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative diseases present in the industrialized countries. It is estimated that more than 50% of the population over 65 years of age presents this disease-related symptoms, indeed the increase in life expectancy and the trend towards global ageing of the population make copper increasingly important study and treatment. But despite efforts to understand the disease and designing specific therapies, there is still a great ignorance about its origins and whether current therapies are effective enough.

This disease is characterized by progressive wear of the cartilage, which has a key role in the movement of the joint, explains Dr. Luís Martí Bonmatí, head of diagnostic service for the image and quantification of Chiron Valencia Hospital, cartilage is used to provide protection and mechanical stability to the joints, in such a way that impacts that is undergoing the skeleton in their daily activity not causing any harm. However, progressive wear of the cartilage, due to age or excessive mechanical activity, causes to lose these properties, which can no longer absorb effectively the impacts and starts to degenerate the articulation, producing pain or disability where more serious. ”

magnetic resonance imaging has become the reference technique to diagnose this disease even before This manifest any symptoms and given that a technique is noninvasive and harmless allows monitoring of the patient and the treatment without any kind of trouble, unlike other diagnostic techniques such as Arthroscopy where is necessary the realization of a minor surgical operation which makes it much mores annoying. It also lets you customize the most more convenient therapy for each patient. As asserted by Roberto Sanz, engineer of the team of quantification Quirón, recent advances in image acquisition and quantification of biomarkers techniques are allowing that increasingly we can diagnose the disease early so having measures objective, fully reproducible they characterize the biological situation of the tissue with much greater than the perceived detail to naked eye by the human eye. With these new approaches the clinical professional can have much more information to make an accurate diagnosis and to select the most advantageous therapeutic option for each patient. ”

Radiology Department Quirón Valencia and its quantification group service, created in 2006, is a pioneer in the application of engineering techniques to magnetic resonance images. Composed of engineers in telecommunications and computer science, all of them have further training in knowledge of medicine. Its main function is to provide added value to traditional x-ray report through the extraction of biomarkers of disease from the images. All this thanks to the digital radiology, which has allowed us to that advanced engineering techniques can be applied to images to obtain values and indicators not perceptible to the naked eye by the radiologist.

The Group of quantification combines knowledge in mathematics and computing with the anatomy and Physiology, to find new biomarkers for image to express objective changes in disease. These biomarkers can detect the disease at its most early stage and evaluate the response to treatment very early. The Group quantification Quirón dedicates its efforts to apply these techniques to the study of the human body from the images acquired in magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography equipment. Currently, there are solid lines of research, development and innovation, as work on new biomarkers of angiogenesis associated with tumors, neuroimaging in degenerative processes and dementias and analysis of the cardiovascular system.

Hospitable Group on Chiron

Currently, group hospital Chiron has seven general hospitals in Barcelona, Bizkaia, Madrid, Málaga, San Sebastián, Valencia and Zaragoza, as well as a day hospital in Zaragoza and two monographs assisted in Bilbao and Pamplona reproduction centers.

Chiron is the first hospital in number of aided private patients and healthcare area of new construction in Spain, with a total of 207,000 square feet. All its centers are equipped with the most advanced equipment in diagnosis, treatment and telemedicine, and in total has 2,700 employees, manages 917 hospital beds, 104 beds of UCI, 103 operating theatres and 537 clinics.

Group Hospital Chiron has agreements with most medical insurers nationwide and in 2010 were in their hospitals 254.445 er, 87.715 income, 62.340 interventions, 6.410 births and 763.374 consultations.