CHARM: Calibration of Hyperpolarized metAbolic MR

The project we are embarking on addresses a critical health issue: the challenge of accurately diagnosing prostate cancer. This is particularly important because prostate cancer is very common, especially as men get older. Right now, healthcare systems in Europe and the UK are starting to use MRI scans more often to try to catch prostate cancer early in men over 50\.

Catching it early is key because it means less invasive treatment and lower healthcare costs. However, there's a big problem: current MRI methods can't tell the difference between aggressive and less serious types of prostate cancer. This leads to many men being overdiagnosed and treated more aggressively than they need to be, which can be costly and harmful to their quality of life.

This is where our project comes in. We've got a new type of MRI scan in the works, using something called hyperpolarised 13C-labelled pyruvate. This advanced technique has shown promise in being able to tell apart the aggressive and less serious types of prostate cancer.

But there are some hurdles. The current way of doing this scan is very expensive and not always reliable. But most importantly, the results from these scans aren't consistent across different hospitals, which makes it hard for this technique to be used widely.

To tackle these issues, we have brought together three experts: N-Vision Imaging Technologies (NVIS), Gold Standard Phantoms (GSP), and University College London Hospitals (UCL). NVIS has developed a new, more efficient machine for these MRI scans, based on an advanced quantum technology. GSP has come up with a way to calibrate MRI scans so that they're consistent no matter where or how they are performed.

And UCL brings valuable experience from their research in using this particular kind of MRI to spot aggressive prostate cancer.

Our goal is to create a system where this advanced MRI technique can be used in hospitals everywhere, reliably identifying the aggressive types of prostate cancer. This would help doctors make better treatment decisions, thereby saving a lot of money and improving the lives of patients. We're planning to put all of these pieces together -- the new machine from NVIS, the calibration technology from GSP, and the expertise from UCL -- to make this happen.

In the end, we hope to demonstrate a complete, working system that can be used as a model for hospitals around the world.