Enabling new disruptive magnetic imaging technologies through advanced instrument design

我的研究重点是开发两种新的成像技术，这两种技术在广泛的应用中表现出良好的前景。已经发明了许多不同的成像方法，虽然每种方法都有其独特的优点，但它们都有一个共同点：它们允许我们“看到”其他方式无法直接看到的潜在结构和过程。医学成像就是一个很好的例子，众所周知的技术，如超声波、x射线或核磁共振成像，使我们能够以一种无创的方式窥视身体内部，监测婴儿的发育，检查骨折，或帮助诊断可能的疾病。当然，医学只是一个很小的例子，成像技术已经成为每个研究领域、工业领域乃至日常生活中不可或缺的工具。我们使用某种形式的成像来观察很小的物体（如分子和细胞），很大的物体（如地质和天气模式），以及介于两者之间的一切，比如你在机场的行李。寻找具有不同能力和应用领域的新成像技术，不仅对科学和科学家，而且对整个社会都很重要。为了我的研究，我将开发一种新的方法来进行磁共振成像（MRI），使用更少的笨重和昂贵的设备。这可能会导致更轻、更简单、更便宜的核磁共振成像设备，进而将这项重要的医学成像技术带到小型或偏远社区。同样的技术也可以广泛应用于从食品检验到石油勘探等各种领域。我还将致力于开发一种全新的成像技术，即磁颗粒成像（MPI）。MPI在医学成像方面也显示出良好的前景，特别是在检查心脏和动脉，以及大脑和肾脏方面。它还将在生物学中用于追踪细胞，在化学中用于监测某些类型的反应。寻找MRI和MPI的其他应用是我研究计划中最重要的长期目标之一。

My research is focused on the development of two new imaging technologies that show excellent promise for a wide variety of applications. There are a many different imaging methods that have been invented, and while each has its own particular advantages they all share one thing in common: They allow us to “see” underlying structure and processes that were not otherwise directly visible. An excellent example of this is medical imaging, where well-known techniques such as ultrasound, X-ray, or MRI allow us to peer inside the body in a noninvasive way to monitor a baby’s development, check for a bone fracture, or aid in the diagnosis of a possible disease.Medicine is just one small example, of course, and imaging techniques have become an indispensible tool in every field of research, as well as in industry and indeed in everyday life. We use imaging of some form or another to look at – and into – the very small (e.g., molecules and cells), the very large (e.g., geology and weather patterns), and everything in between, such as your luggage at the airport. The search for new imaging technologies, with different capabilities and areas of application, is important not only to science and scientists but to society as a whole.For my research I will develop a new method for performing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that uses much less bulky and expensive equipment. This could result in lighter, simpler, and cheaper MRI apparatus, which in turn could bring this important medical imaging technology to small or remote communities. This same technique could also be used in as wide a variety of applications as food inspection to oil exploration. I will also work on the development of a brand new imaging technique known as magnetic particle imaging (MPI). MPI also shows excellent promise for medical imaging, in particular for examining the heart and arteries, as well as the brain and kidneys. It will also find use in biology to track cells and in chemistry to monitor certain types of reactions. The search for still other applications of MRI and MPI is one of the most important long-term objectives of my research program.