Abstract: The present invention relates to the field of diagnostic imaging and more specifically to the field of monitoring drug delivery using non-invasive imaging techniques. The present invention provides for imaging agents and compositions useful for NMR, computed tomography, scintigraphy, PET and any other type of imaging where the imaging agent can be carried by liposomes or other lipid based vehicles, such as micelles or suspended lipid aggregates.

Abstract: The invention provides a method of detecting myocardial ischemia in a human or a non-human body, said method comprising administering to said body a physiologically acceptable manganese complex or salt thereof, subjecting said body to a magnetic resonance imaging procedure capable of generating images with time intervals of less than 0.5 seconds and thereafter providing a series of images of the myocardium of said body whereby to identify regions of abnormal blood flow. The method in accordance with the invention is of use not only in detecting myocardial ischemia, but also in discriminating between reversibly and irreversibly injured myocardial tissues, thereby providing important information about myocardial viability, e.g. during or following a severe heart attack or coronary occlusion. The method of the invention also provides an effective means of monitoring reperfusion of the myocardium.

Abstract: An in vivo diagnostic method for differentiating normal from diseased tissue is described, using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Differences in molecular diffusion between viable and necrotic tissue, and normal and diseased tissue, are measured using diffusion-weighted MRI techniques to evaluate the success of a medical treatment regimen.