Non-invasive in-vivo magnetic resonance imaging of microvascular physiology

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Measuring blood flow, vessel size, and other physiological properties of small blood vessels provides valuable information about the health of tissue and the nature of abnormal alterations. Modern medical imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provide a non-invasive way to measure these properties, but they all require the injection of contrast agents. This requirement precludes repeated measurements and is not accessible to very young children and other sensitive subjects. In this proposal, we develop a truly non-invasive MRI platform to measure small vessel structure and function with fine spatial detail - without injecting contrast. This is a novel and transformative technology that will greatly expand the scope of basic and applied research related to small blood vessels.