Background: The success of many cell-based therapies is highly dependent on the accurate delivery, dosing and trafficking of the cellular therapeutic. In vivo magnetic resonance (MR) cell tracking provides a means to non-invasively and longitudinally evaluate these parameters for cellular therapy.
Objective: To provide an overview of MR cell tracking and how cellular therapeutics might be improved by utilizing this technology.
Methods: We focused on the technologies utilized for stem cell and immunotherapies in preclinical models of disease.
Results/conclusion: New technologies in MR cell tracking will soon take the field beyond preclinical studies and begin to show benefits in clinical trials of novel experimental cell-based therapies.