Singapore’s first centre for advanced metabolic imaging opens at the National Heart Centre

By Judith Tan

11/16/2024 10:41:00 AM | The Straits Times

The article is contributed/written by

Associate Professor Calvin Chin at the new Centre for Advanced Metabolic Imaging, which uses advanced technology to do real-time tracking of how the body metabolises sugar into energy, offering insights into metabolic pathways and pinpointing where fat deposits accumulate. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

A new centre to identify body fat that is uniquely Asian has opened at the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS).

The Centre for Advanced Metabolic Imaging (Cami) identifies specific areas where fat accumulates, which could change the way in which obesity and metabolic disorders are assessed, especially in Asians.

It uses a process called hyperpolarisation to increase the detectability of biomolecules – which are chemical compounds, including those involved in energy production, in living cells – in MRI scans, making it easier to track glucose breakdown.

Associate Professor Calvin Chin, a senior consultant and clinician scientist with NHCS’ Department of Cardiology, said this advanced technology allows real-time tracking of how the body metabolises sugar into energy, offering insights into metabolic pathways and pinpointing how different organs process nutrients into energy and where fat deposits accumulate.

The current tools for measuring body fat, such as body mass index (BMI) and body roundness index, do not accurately reflect the amount of fat in the body or indicate where the fat is deposited.

Moreover, the BMI threshold for defining obesity and being overweight was primarily based on data from Caucasian men.

Studies have found that unlike Caucasians, Asians tend to accumulate belly fat deep within the abdomen, which itself is a form of metabolic disorder and can result in chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity.

The new centre hopes to accurately map the distribution of fat in Asian patients and create opportunities for research into how it relates to the risk of metabolic diseases.

Cami is the first centre in South-east Asia to use the C-13 Hyperpolariser, a machine that represents an innovative breakthrough in metabolic imaging and has boosted the sensitivity of metabolic measurements by more than 10,000 times, said Prof Chin, who is also director of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and deputy director of the National Heart Research Institute Singapore at NHCS.

The centre was officially launched on Nov 15 by Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong at the fifth NHCS Heart to Heart Gala, held at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore.

“A lot of the research that (has been done on obesity) was carried out in Caucasian patients and Western populations. The new centre enables researchers to map fat deposition in Asians and analyse organ metabolism with precision,” said Prof Chin. “By having a deeper and better understanding of our Asian profiles, we can then better treat our patients.”

The C-13 Hyperpolariser increases the negative charge within biomolecules to allow easier scanning using MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).

“The process in real time involves elaborate steps of preparing biomolecules in a clean lab... and it takes about two to three hours”, he said.

When the biomolecules are ready, they are injected into the body of the patient, through his veins. MRI is then used by the team led by Prof Chin to examine the patient’s fat distribution and observe how the biomolecules are broken down.

“The MRI scanning is done within a minute of injecting the biomolecules into the patient to track their breakdown by the body in real time,” he said.

Knowing how the fat is distributed and how the body processes sugar can offer insights into the relationship between obesity, metabolic disorder and heart health.

“We hope that through this better understanding, we can perhaps devise... more cost-effective measures to more accurately identify obesity in our local population,” he added.

The new centre can also help the team learn more about the effects of metabolic diseases on Asians and develop targeted treatment strategies for these patients to reduce future heart complications.

Prof Chin said the immediate plan for the centre is to first understand the natural distribution of fat and metabolism in Singapore’s population – across the different ethnic cohorts, and between males and females.

“Through our findings and research, we will be able to identify patients who are suitable for certain types of medications, certain types of treatment strategies, and this could then be extended to countries in the region,” he added.