Robust and practical tools for imaging vascular reactivity in the brain

研究：血管疾病（血管问题）是导致死亡和残疾的主要原因。中风（血管堵塞）是全球第四大杀手（加拿大第三），最致残（三分之二的幸存者残疾），在英国每年给社会造成260亿英镑的损失。这很难察觉。患有血管疾病的大脑在休息时拍摄的磁共振成像（MRI）（脑扫描仪）图像中可以显示为健康。然而，在压力下，受损的血管不能总是维持足够的血液供应。你可以通过一项人工给大脑施加压力的任务来识别这些问题，方法是让病人吸入混合了空气的二氧化碳。这向大脑中的血管发出信号，增加血流量。我们的目标是准确测量血流量的变化，为大脑血管疾病提供新的见解。MRI的快速、定量和可靠值将为临床医生提供诊断信息。结合来自诺丁汉（任务，但在患者之间更具可比性）和多伦多（无任务，对患者更友好）的互补MRI技术将提供实用的诊断工具。该项目的最终目标是建立一个两全其美的成像血流变化技术：定量，实用和舒适。

BBSRC : Colette Clare Milbourn : BB/M008770/1Research: Vascular disease (problems with blood vessels) are a leading cause of death and disability. Stroke alone (blockage of blood vessels) is the 4th biggest killer globally (3rd in Canada), most disabling (2/3rd of survivors disabled) and costs society ~£26 billion a year in the UK. It can be hard to detect. A brain that has vascular disease can appear healthy in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) (brain scanner) images taken at rest. However, under stress the damaged blood vessels cannot always maintain a sufficient blood supply. You can identify these problems using a task that stresses the brain artificially, by asking a patient to breathe in carbon dioxide (CO2) mixed with air. This signals the blood vessels in the brain to increase the blood flow. We aim to accurately measure this change in blood flow to provide new insight into vascular diseases of the brain. Quick, quantitative and robust values from MRI will provide clinicians with information for diagnosis. Combining complementary MRI techniques from Nottingham (task, but more comparable across patients) and Toronto (no task, more patient friendly) will provide a practical diagnostic tool. The ultimate aim of this project is build towards a best of both worlds' technique for imaging blood flow change: quantitative, practical and comfortable.