These investigations are devoted to the development of non-invasive methods of accessing cellular structure and function. Two general techniques are being used: Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and optical spectroscopy. Over the last year improvements in the NMR transmitter-receiver coil have been made by characterizing the effects of surface area contact. In addition, a flexible catheter NMR probe was developed. Using optical spectroscopy, a procedure was developed for the determination of fatty plaques on human artery walls using surface fluorescence.
