IMMPRINT: Integrated molecular Imaging for Personalized Biomarker-based Breast Cancer Characterization and Treatment

Molecular medical imaging plays a crucial role in modern medical diagnosis, enabling early and personalized therapy for various diseases, especially cancer. However, existing in vivo medical imaging methods have limitations for molecular imaging in humans, such as low sensitivity to molecular processes, limited spatial and temporal resolution, or high exposure to ionizing radiation. To address these challenges, IMMPRINT aims to develop a proof-of-principle demonstrator for in vivo 3D imaging, utilizing X-ray dark-field imaging (DFI) and X-ray fluorescence computed tomography (XFCT) as a novel hybrid tool for personalised tumor profiling, with a specific focus on breast cancer (BC) disease.

DFI will aid the identification of suspicious tumor lesion sites at micrometer scales, followed by a detailed high spatial resolution molecular assessment at the local tumor level using XFCT. As a result of this approach, exposure to body-wide high ionizing radiation doses, as seen in nuclear medical imaging methods, can be confined to regions of interest, thus promoting patient safety. The DF-XFCT will rely on various pillars of innovative technology development, from novel detectors to integrated in vivo, in vitro bio-diagnostics. X-ray fluorescence is emitted when nanoparticles are excited by X-rays. Within IMMPRINT, distinct signatures of intra- and inter-tumor heterogeneity in BC will be identified, which are suitable for detection by specifically designed and targeted nanoparticles. The IMMPRINT system for hybrid DF-XFCT imaging will include standard clinical X-ray sources and will benefit from innovative detectors, enabling concurrent detection of DFI and XFCT, aimed at high spatial and energy resolution.

The unequally distributed data, which includes timing and energy information, requires the development of new methods to extract 3D imaging information from this data, providing insights into the functional, molecular, and anatomical properties of BC disease. The IMMPRINT imaging system will allow new approaches for better medical diagnosis and also new biomedical research. It will demonstrate the technical feasibility on the lab scale and potentially form the basis for the commercial development of a system. The consortium unites expertise from all fields mentioned above and is using nationally and internationally funded large-scale infrastructures.