RespirAct Synchronization with MRI and its Impact on CVR Mapping: A Simultaneous Gas Control-Imaging System

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Inhalation of a vasoactive stimulus such as carbon dioxide (CO2) results in changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF), which may be measured using various techniques such as Positron Emission Tomography, Transcranial Doppler, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Among these various techniques, blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD)-MRI is preferred due to its non-invasiveness and excellent spatial resolution. The change of the BOLD signal in response to CO2 is mapped over the whole brain as cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) to aid in the diagnose and treatment in cerebrovascular disease. Moreover, such CVR mapping can be utilized for arterial steno-occlusive and neurodegenerative disease.Controlling the vasoactive CO2 stimulus and measuring the BOLD signal using MRI are fundamental for determining CVR. The change in BOLD is measured from the magnetic resonance signal, and the CO2 stimulus is carefully controlled in order to accurately measure CVR.In this proposal a synchronize mechanism and a machine learning model will be developed in order to enhance the CVR mapping quality. The proposal is defined as a two-year master's research project at the University of Waterloo where all the students benefit of having equal right to access academic resources and support. This project mainly focused on six objectives: 1) Magnetic and electrical structural modeling of the MRI and the RespirAct systems, 2) control system design, 3) experiment, 4) Image Processing algorithms, 5) CVR atlas production, and 6) publication. Furthermore, as a long-term objective it is worth mentioning that this project can be integrated with another NSERC funded project of Maglev Laboratory, wireless electromagnetic actuation, in order to provide non invasive surgery for the patients. During the course of the project a graduate student will be involved. The student will be trained in a number of key areas, including mechatronics, electromagnetic system design, finite element modeling, prototyping and manufacturing, Image Processing, and Machine Learning algorithms.