Novel MRI Techniques to Image Hippocampal Internal Architecture

劳伦斯·维尔·霍夫博士是阿拉巴马大学的癫痫专家和神经学助理教授。 伯明翰。具有工程学本科背景和生物医学博士后研究生学位 工程学方面，Ver Hoef博士试图将自己确立为一名技术翻译神经成像研究员，在 核磁共振工程界尚未应用的尖端能力与特定疾病之间的差距 临床神经科学界促进合作努力的成像需求。这两个高度专业化 Arenas将大大受益于一位精通两门语言的研究人员，他可以将工程能力联系起来 需要临床研究的应用，需要更好的工具。为了实现这一目标，维尔·霍夫博士将 通过指导项目和教育课程发展他的研究能力，以完成他的工程 文凭，具备生物统计学和研究设计方面的技能，并提供管理项目的实践经验 具有工程和临床组件。该项目将优化一种新的核磁共振技术(“3D锥体”)，以产生 高分辨率的人类海马体的薄层图像，将清楚地显示正常的分层 海马区内结构(HIA)。在冠状MRI上，HIA的分化丧失被认为是一种 癫痫患者海马区硬化症的影像诊断。HS是医学上难治性疾病的常见原因 癫痫，但也是高度可治愈的切除手术。目前的核磁共振成像技术不一致，而且能力很差 来证明他的行为。因此，持续显示HIA或其异常的成像技术， 可能会将某些患有致残、难治性癫痫的患者确定为外科候选患者，预后良好 抽搐自由。该项目将利用3D锥体成像技术与多幅图像相结合 平均化(以提高信噪比)和扫描间协同配准(以最小化移动影响)。几个 具体的参数将被优化，以产生最好的HIA分化。届时，这项新技术将 与标准的磁共振成像技术进行比较，以显示其优越性。Ver Hoef博士将在 生物医学工程和临床神经成像方面的专家。 相关性(请参阅说明)： 该项目将开发一种专门的核磁共振技术，将产生非常高分辨率的部分图像 被称为海马体的大脑。这项技术将使我们能够检测出细微的解剖异常 在严重癫痫患者中可以看到的海马区，以便这些患者可以被引导到 有可能治愈他们癫痫的手术。这项技术也可能有助于研究其他疾病 改善海马体，如阿尔茨海默病和精神分裂症。

Dr. Lawrence Ver Hoef is an epileptologist and Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Universityof Alabama at Birmingham. With an undergraduate background in engineering and post-doctoral graduate studies in biomedical engineering, Dr. Ver Hoef seeks to establish himself as a technical translational neuroimaging researcher that bridges the gap between the unapplied cutting-edge abilities of the MRI engineering community and the disease-specific imaging needs of the clinical neuroscience community to facilitatecooperative endeavors. These two highly specialized arenas would benefit greatly from a researcher who is fluent in both languages who could connect engineering abilities in need of application with clinical investigationsin need of better tools. To accomplish this goal Dr Ver Hoef will develop his research abilities through a mentored project and educational curriculum that will complete his engineering credentials, equiphim with skills in biostatistics and study design, and provide hands-on experience managing a project with engineering and clinical components. The project will optimize a novel MRI technique ("3D Cones") to generate high-resolution thin-sliced images of the human hippocampus that will clearly demonstrate the normal layered hippocampal internalarchitecture (HIA). A loss of differentiation of HIA on coronal MRI has been suggested to be an imaging halmarkof hippocampal sclerosis (HS) in epilepsy patients. HS is a common cause of medically refractory epilepsy, but is also highly remediable with resective surgery. Current MRI techniques are inconsistent and poorly able to demonstrateHIA. Therefore, an imaging technique that consistently demonstrates HIA, or abnormalities thereof, may identify certain patients with disabling, intractible epilepsy as surgical candidates with an excellent prognosis for seizure freedom. The project will utilize the 3D cones imaging technique in conjunction withmultiple-image averaging (to improve signal to noise ratio) and inter-scan co-registration (to minimize movement effects). Several specific parameters will be optimized to generate the best possible differentiation of HIA. The new technique will then be compared to standard MRI techniques to demonstrate superiority. Dr. Ver Hoef will have close mentorship under experts in both biomedical engineering and clinical neuroimaging. RELEVANCE (See instructions): This project will develop a specialized MRI technique that will generate very high resolution images of a part of the brain called the hippocampus. This technique will allow us to detect fine anatomic abnormalities of the hippocampus that may be seen in patients with severe epilepsy so that those patients can be directed to surgery to potentially cure their epilepsy. This technique may also help in research of other illnesses that nvolve the hippocampus such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.