Developing and Optimising MRI Tissue Electrical Conductivity Mapping Methods for Structural and Functional Neuroimaging

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1) Brief description of the context of the research including potential impactMRI is indispensable in the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases. These are poorly understood while their prevalence and socio-economic burden continue to rise. Structural and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) can provide biomarkers for early diagnosis and potential therapeutic intervention in neurodegenerative diseases. The vision for this research is to optimise MRI methods for simultaneous structural and functional mapping of tissue electrical conductivity as MRI electrical properties tomography (EPT) can distinguish between brain tumour types and shows promise for revealing changes in brain tissue microstructure and ion content in neurodegenerative diseases such as epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease (AD).The conductivity mapping (CM) techniques developed in this research will allow a rich set of novel, multimodal MRI contrasts to be obtained from a single, efficient scan. This will allow development of new combined structural and functional biomarkers based on tissue conductivity (in addition to tissue magnetic susceptibility) for early diagnosis of AD and other diseases2) Aims and ObjectivesThe aim of this project is to develop and optimise MRI acquisition and CM processing methods to provide simultaneous structural and functional brain tissue conductivity maps from a specially designed MRI pulse sequence that can also be used for quantitative magnetic susceptibility mapping (QSM).The specific objectives are to:- Design and build a phantom (MRI test object) with several compartments with tissue equivalent conductivities- Develop an accurate CM method for multiple echo echo-planar imaging (ME-EPI) data acquired in phantoms - Develop and optimise structural CM techniques for ME-EPI data acquired in healthy volunteers- Develop and test image processing techniques for resting-state functional CM- Develop and test physiological noise removal methods for functional CMThe optimisation of MRI acquisition pulse sequences and CM algorithms will be carried out in both phantoms and healthy volunteers. The student will work primarily at the 3 Tesla Prisma MRI system at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. The CM technique we propose is based on the phase (offset) of the complex MRI signal so the phase time-evolution can be used for QSM and the magnitude signal (used for conventional imaging) is still available and can be utilised for standard T2*-weighted imaging and standard functional MRI with no extra scan time cost.3) Novelty of Research MethodologyThe student will develop CM techniques optimised for both structural and functional conductivity mapping. EPI-based CM is novel. It has not been optimised or applied for structural neuroimaging. There are no publications on functional CM or resting-state functional CM which will be enabled by the rapid MRI acquisition sequences and CM algorithms developed as part of this research programme. 4) Alignment to EPSRC's strategies and research areasThis research is most closely aligned with EPSRC's healthcare technologies theme as it aims to accelerate research to healthcare applications. The specific research area pertaining to this research is Medical Imaging. The research may also involve artificial intelligence technologies if deep learning is developed and employed for conductivity mapping.5) Any companies or collaborators involvedNo companies or external collaborators are currently involved in the research.