Single-point 19F imaging of fluorinated drugs injected into the eye for the treatment of macular degener

Introduction: Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is the most common cause of visual impairment in people over 60 world. Forms of ARMD include the growth of new blood vessels underneath the retina (angiogenesis) and cystoid macular d which there is a loss of vision due to fluid-filled areas in the macular region. Anti-angiogenic substances like triamcinolo pegaptanib and bevacizumab have shown great promise for the treatment of such forms of ARMD. These substances are inj vitreous cavity (Fig.1) considering the vitreous as drug reservoir, and allowed to diffuse into the choroid for several months. Fo treatment, timely replenishment of the drug is necessary. At present, no accurate noninvasive techniques exist for monitoring the b of the drug after administration and the necessity of a new injection is usually determined by biopsy or following the treatment eff biopsies, however, cause damage to the choroid membrane and constitute a traumatic experience for most patients. At the UMC U a study has been started to explore the potential of F MRI and fluorination of drugs for monitoring the status of the distribution the eye. As a first step, an ex vivo study was performed on the MR visualization of Perfluorooctylbromide (PFOB), after inj enucleated bovine eye. Fluor imaging was done with a single-point technique [1] to avoid misregistration artifacts from the mu PFOB with their large chemical shifts (Fig.2) and to obtain maximum sensitivity [2,3]