Phase I Amount
$1,340,229
This project will develop MRI physiological imaging with higher spatial and temporal resolution, larger brain coverage, and faster accelerated pulse sequences. The physiologic images have contrasts of microvascular- weighted blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD), cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral blood volume (CBV). Importantly, the techniques to be developed are largely insensitive to venous blood contributions to signal, unlike traditional BOLD echo planar imaging (EPI) sequences, and thus they are extremely useful for precision imaging of physiological markers in neurological disorders and for higher specificity in cortical layer fMRI, enabling higher granularity in human neurocircuitry imaging. Novel acceleration techniques for each pulse sequence will be incorporated to increase slice-volume coverage and improve signal to noise ratio (SNR) and point spread function (PSF) in signal localization. Sequence development and evaluations will be performed at several 3T and 7T imaging sites. We will develop a software package with advanced variants of several pulse sequences: zoomed 3D gradient-and-spin-echo (GRASE), arterial spin labeling (ASL) for CBF imaging, slice- saturation slab- inversion vascular space occupancy (SS-SI-VASO) for CBV imaging, and the novel VASO technique with "multiple acquisitions with global excitation cycling" (MAGEC)-VASO to achieve whole brain coverage. The software package will also include a modular analysis pipeline for use by neuroscientists and physicians without the need for extensive MR-physics or coding expertise. Achieving non-invasive imaging of neuronal circuits in the human brain will allow neuroscientists to study normal brain processes and allow medical scientists to study neurocircuitry changes and neurological diseases. Currently, high-resolution fMRI technology could be used to identify fMRI of neural activity at different cortical depths, but is severely limited by poorly localized signal from venous drainage in the cortex. This project innovates new, robust 3D fMRI imaging sequences that eliminate venous contamination, thus affording high fidelity mapping of fine-scale neuronal circuitry compared to current gradient echo EPI BOLD imaging.
Public Health Relevance Statement: Narrative This project innovates high resolution and high speed MRI to enable robust measuring of several physiological parameters important to determine normal and abnormal brain states. The new high resolution imaging techniques will be able to evaluate neuronal activity at different depths through the neocortex to better define both normal and abnormal circuitry in the brain. These novel physiological imaging techniques can potentially be used to improve medical diagnosis of several neurological diseases as well as to elucidate neurocircuitry mechanisms behind several different neuropsychological and neurological disorders.
Project Terms: Acceleration; Blood; Blood Reticuloendothelial System; blood flow measurement; Blood Vessels; vascular; Brain; Brain Nervous System; Encephalon; Cerebrovascular Circulation; brain blood flow; cerebral blood flow; cerebral circulation; cerebrocirculation; cerebrovascular blood flow; Clinical Protocols; Diagnosis; Disease; Disorder; Drainage procedure; Drainage; Environment; Human; Modern Man; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; MR Imaging; MR Tomography; MRI; Medical Imaging, Magnetic Resonance / Nuclear Magnetic Resonance; NMR Imaging; NMR Tomography; Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Zeugmatography; nervous system disorder; Nervous System Diseases; Neurologic Disorders; Neurological Disorders; neurological disease; Neurons; Nerve Cells; Nerve Unit; Neural Cell; Neurocyte; neuronal; Neuropsychology; Neuropsychologies; neuropsychologic; Noise; Patients; Physicians; Physics; Signal Transduction; Cell Communication and Signaling; Cell Signaling; Intracellular Communication and Signaling; Signal Transduction Systems; Signaling; biological signal transduction; Computer software; Software; Software Tools; Computer Software Tools; Specificity; Spin Labels; Technology; Testing; Time; Work; Imaging Techniques; Imaging Procedures; Imaging Technics; Measures; Echo-Planar Imaging; Echo-Planar Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Echoplanar Imaging; Echoplanar Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Planar Medical Imaging; Neocortex; homotypical cortex; isocortex; neopallium; quality assurance; improved; Brain imaging; brain visualization; Site; Area; Variant; Variation; Physiological; Physiologic; Medical; Evaluation; Measurement; Venous; Functional MRI; fMRI; Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Pulse; Physiologic pulse; Deep Brain Stimulation; Scientist; Techniques; 3-D; 3D; three dimensional; 3-Dimensional; Performance; neural; relating to nervous system; neuronal circuit; neuronal circuitry; Speed; novel; Coding System; Code; neural circuitry; neurocircuitry; synaptic circuit; synaptic circuitry; neural circuit; protocol development; Brain Trauma; traumatic brain damage; Traumatic Brain Injury; Documentation; Data; Resolution; Functional Imaging; Physiologic Imaging; physiological imaging; Slice; Validation; Process; Development; developmental; blood oxygen level dependent; blood oxygenation level dependent; Image; imaging; reconstruction; innovation; innovate; innovative; non-invasive imaging; noninvasive imaging; temporal measurement; temporal resolution; time measurement; cerebral blood volume; neurovascular; neuro-vascular; brain abnormalities; high resolution imaging; analysis pipeline; data analysis pipeline; data processing pipeline; public repository; publicly accessible repository; publicly available repository
