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Institutes/ Institute of biomedical imaging (I²BM)/ Departments/ MIRCen (MIRCen)/ Neurodegenerative disease laboratory (LMN)/ Clinical Applications

Clinical Applications


MIRCen reseach teams tightly cooperate with the clinical imaging centre of the Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot of the Biomedical Imaging Institute and the Henri Mondor hospital departments of neurology and neurosurgery (Paris 12 University) to develop innovative treatments for neurodegenerative diseases in a bench to bedside approach.

Key words

Translationnal research, neurology, neurosurgery, PET and SPECT imaging, MRI

Expertise and equipment

At Service Hopsitalier Frédéric Joliot:

The facility includes high performance cerebral imaging systems at both molecular and structural level :

  • a cyclotron allowing the acceleration of 15 MeV protons for the production of positron emitters,
  • chemistry and radiochemistry laboratories for GMP synthesis of radiopharmaceuticals,
  • three Positron Emission Tomography systems including one dedicated to high spatial resolution brain imaging,
  • one dual modality PET CT (Computed Tomography) system,
  • two gamma cameras,
  • a 1.5T MRI,
  • a platform for image processing including pharmacokinetic analysis and multimodality image processing.

Four rooms are available for patients.

At Henri Mondor Hospital

  • a neurology department expert in neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and a national centre expert in Huntington disease) with a large cohort of patients,
  • an expertise in cognitive aspects of neurodegenerative diseases especially in the language area. This aspect is developped in close collaboration with the Ecole Normale Supérieure,
  • a neurosurgery department equipped for stereotactic surgery, specialized in biotherapies, gene transfer and cell therapy,
  • a Clinical Investigation Centre for biotherapies,
  • an electrophysiology laboratory,
  • rooms and trained staff enabling complete biosafety level 2 clinical trials (from surgery to patient evaluation)
  • a laboratory dedicated to quantitative movment analysis and neurophysiology,
  • a MRI system

Main achievements

  • An expertise, acquired over more than 20 years, in brain imaging for Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases
  • A recognized expertise in cell transplantation in patients with Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases
  • First european in vivo gene therapy trial in Parkinson's disease sponsored by Oxford Biomedica Ltd
  • Cortical high frequency stimulation for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and movement disorders
  • Coodination of the national network for Huntigton's disease.