Medical Imaging

In the area of medical magnetic resonance (MR) imaging our research focuses on two main topics: diffusion imaging and susceptibility imaging. Diffusion imaging. Magnetic resonance images can be sensitized to the brownian motion (diffusion) of the water molecules in the biological tissue under study. The microscopic composition and structure of the tissues have a drastic effect on the brownian motion and, hence, on the diffusion weighted images. We are interested in the diffusion properties of healthy and pathologic tissue and the ways these can be expressed in quantitative parameters. Clinical application: differential diagnosis of various lesion types. Susceptibility imaging. Like most materials, biologic tissue, when placed in a magnetic field, will alter the characteristics of this field (a property called susceptibility). Magnetic resonance signals can be made extremely sensitive to these small effects and images derived from these signals can be used to study the structures that give rise to them. A good example is trabecular bone, in which the characteristics of the bony mesh are reflected in the signal from the enclosed marrow. In this context, we are active in optimising and quantifying these effects in magnetic resonance images and the exploration of the potential of the resulting techniques for non-invasive osteoporosis screening.