QUANTITATIVE IMAGING

Quantitative MRI of the brain is an attractive and challenging undertaking that aims to extract physical parameters from native MRI images. Quantitative assessment of cerebral tissue changes presents the advantage of being unbiased compared to the more traditional non-quantitative description. Second, the quantitative approach is well-suited to statistical modelling and systematic image analysis approaches, such as the construction of brain atlases. Finally, the tissue intrinsic images produced from quantitative imaging techniques offer new possibilities in longitudinal as well as cross-sectional studies.

Proton MRI is sensitive to the distribution and the mobility of the water molecules in tissue and is also strongly influenced by the chemical environment, such as the presence of paramagnetic substances. The measured distribution of water relates almost directly to the water content of the tissue, that is, the number of water molecules per unit volume of tissue. On the other hand, the mobility of the molecules and the chemical environment give rise to two tissue-specific relaxation times, the longitudinal (T₁) and transversal (T₂) relaxation times.

The quantitative imaging group focuses on the measurement of the tissue relaxation parameters T₁ and T₂ as well as water content. To achieve this aim, appropriate MRI sequences must be developed and / or adapted in order to provide efficient and accurate methods for routine clinical use. Therefore, projects are placed at the interface between basic MR physics, software development and the application of developed methods in the context of clinical studies and/or routine diagnosis. Based on cooperations with the University Hospital Aachen and the Heinrich Heine University of Duesseldorf, the quantitative imaging methods invented in Jülich are applied to neuroscientific research and have already produced novel results. Current studies focus on the quantitative imaging of brain oedema in patients with liver cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy, brain water content dialysis patients, and the quantitative imaging of MS lesions.

Projects

Quantitative cerebral water content mapping

A water mapping protocol suited to a low field strength (1.5 Tesla) system is available and was used for various studies.

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Development and application of ultra-high resolution relaxation time and water content mapping

Quantitative MRI (qMRI) imaging has gained a lot attention due to its ability to provide very specific and reproducible information.

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A water mapping protocol suited to a low field strength (1.5 Tesla) system is available and was used for various studies.

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Quantitative cerebral water content mapping

Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is a chronic and generally, in its early stages, reversible disorder in aged people, characterized by the gradual onset of a triad of gait impairment, cognitive dysfunction, and urinary incontinence.

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Quantitative imaging software development

The development of software package for quantitative MRI is an important step toward popularizing quantitative MRI.

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Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is a chronic and generally, in its early stages, reversible disorder in aged people, characterized by the gradual onset of a triad of gait impairment, cognitive dysfunction, and urinary incontinence.

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Group Leader

Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. N. J. Shah

Institute Director INM-4

• Institute of Neurosciences and Medicine (INM)
• Medical Imaging Physics (INM-4)

Building 15.14 /
Room 201

+49 2461/61-6836

E-Mail

Staff

Dr. Zaheer AbbasBuilding 15.14 / Room 210+49 2461/61-1915

Dr. Ana-Maria Oros-PeusquensBuilding 15.2 / Room 295d+49 2461/61-2107

Dr. Seong Dae YunSenior scientist, Team leader of Sequence & Scientific ComputingBuilding 15.2 / Room R 231+49 2461/61-2085