Research in the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Group is focused on technical advances in imaging. These include imaging sequences applied to the body or the brain, methodology development in molecular imaging, cardiac imaging and functional brain imaging, and basic science research in each of these areas.
The Yale MRI group's mission is to develop novel MR imaging methods with both clinical and basic science applications. Research is underway to address basic science questions — from stem cell migration and mechanisms of recovery, to understanding tissue damage and remodeling, to fundamental questions regarding brain function. The MRI group is highly interdisciplinary, with expertise in the fields of physics, engineering, chemistry, mathematics, and neuroscience.
Dr. R. Todd Constable's lab is engaged in examining the relationship between the increment in the functional MR signal measured during tasks (cognitive or sensory/motor) and the influence of baseline brain activity on this increment. The research projects focus on understanding negative blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal changes observed in certain cognitive tasks and the relationship between simultaneously recorded surface EEG signals and fMRI, to better comprehend the relationship between fMRI signal changes and brain function. Clinical applications include localization of inter-ictal electrical discharges in the brains of epilepsy patients, assessment of normal vs. abnormal cortical connectivity, and functional mapping for neurosurgical treatment planning. Additionally, fundamental MR engineering projects are underway to develop novel MR imaging strategies for faster and more efficient parallel imaging. Some examples of current research projects in his laboratory include:
Dr. Gigi Galiana's lab is primarily focused on developing imaging techniques based on new contrast mechanisms. One underexplored mode of contrast generation is that of intermolecular multiple quantum coherence (iMQC) signals. iMQC signals are unique two-spin signals that can be generated even in pure water, producing highly resolved spectra in vivo or reflecting subvoxel structure on a tunable distance scale. Many of the lab's projects revolve around applying iMQC signals to solve outstanding problems in biomedical MRI.
One major project involves developing spectroscopic sequences to improve breast mammography. While MRI breast mammography has exquisite sensitivity, its specificity is relatively low. By using iMQCs, the lab acquires high-resolution spectra of the lipid composition in lesions identified as suspicious on MR mammography, testing whether these spectra can predict which lesions merit biopsy.
In addition to their unique spectroscopic properties, iMQC signals give different and nonlinear structural contrast, being sensitive to gradients in oxygenation across a voxel, anisotropy, and magnetization changes. These properties have potential applications in cancer imaging, fMRI, and the detection of various neurological diseases.
One of the greatest challenges of these sequences is the long scan times they can require. Therefore, the lab is also very interested in parallel imaging and other scan acceleration techniques. The iMQC free induction decay is typically collected point by point (because it evolves in the indirect dimension), and adding spatial dimensions to the encoding, or averages for boosting low SNR, can result in very long scan times. However, multichannel coils can boost SNR while providing spatial localization, allowing some spatial encoding steps to be skipped. Still greater acceleration gains may be possible with the nonlinear gradient encoding proposed by Dr. Constable, which is experimentally realizable at the MR center, and Dr. Galiana is also very active in this work.
Dr. Michelle Hampson's lab is focused on the development and application of new functional imaging paradigms. These include resting state functional connectivity analyses and biofeedback via real-time fMRI (rt-fMRI). Rt-fMRI biofeedback has great potential as a clinical treatment for mental and neurological disorders. When combined with resting state functional connectivity assessments collected before and after the biofeedback, it provides a powerful perturb-and-measure approach for studying human brain function. The lab has several ongoing projects:
Dr. Dana Peters' research group focuses on the development and application of new methods for cardiac MR. The group has developed new late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) methods for visualizing fibrosis and scar in the myocardium, achieving a fourfold increase in spatial resolution. High-resolution LGE has several clinical applications in electrophysiology (EP). These include visualizing scar/remodeling in the left atrium to demonstrate remodeling patterns or to visualize ablation lesions. Another application is the improved depiction of left ventricular myocardial scar for more clearly delineating the scar as a substrate of arrhythmias and comparing it with EP data. Additionally, the group is researching undersampled radial imaging for cardiac applications. Some current research projects in the laboratory include:
Co-Director, Yale MR Research Center
Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging and Professor of Neurosurgery; Co-Director MRI Research Center, Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Associate Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging
Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging; Director of real-time fMRI
Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging; Director of Cardiac MRI, Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Associate Research Scientist in Radiology and Biomedical Imaging
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