Displacement-encoded MRI: From Basic Principles to Clinical Applications and Commercialization
November 13, 2020 1:00-2:00 p.m.
Frederick H. Epstein, PhD
Mac Wade Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Chair of the Biomedical Engineering Department at the University of Virginia
ABSTRACT: The use and value of quantitative tissue-motion imaging continues to increase, and methods that are accurate, reproducible, and easy to use are needed. MRI stimulated echoes have the unique property that tissue displacement can be encoded directly into the phase of the signal. We have exploited this property to develop MRI pulse sequences and image analysis methods that enable the accurate and reproducible measurement of tissue motion using protocols suitable for imaging human subjects. This seminar will review the various properties of the signals sampled when imaging using DENSE (displacement encoding using stimulated echoes), the development of DENSE pulse sequences that enable efficient and accurate imaging of the displacement-encoded signal, and the development of image analysis algorithms for quantifying displacement trajectories and tissue strain from DENSE images. In addition to describing methods for displacement-encoded MRI, this seminar will review studies by our group and others showing the application of DENSE imaging to quantify tissue motion in the heart and other organs, demonstrating the clinical and basic science utility of this method. The path to commercialization of DENSE MRI will also be discussed.
BIOGRAPHY: He is recognized for contributions to the development and application of MRI myocardial strain imaging using the Cine DENSE method, as well as other contributions to cardiac MRI. Dr. Epstein has published over 140 peer-reviewed articles, was an Established Investigator of the American Heart Association, and was recently elected a Distinguished Investigator of the Academy for Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Research. He has served as Chair of the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) Science Committee and Chair of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) Cardiac Study Group. He has also served on the Board of Trustees of the SCMR, as a standing member of NIH study section Biomedical Imaging Technology-A, and as a Deputy Editor for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, the leading journal for the field of MRI research. He is presently co-Chair of the SCMR Machine Learning Special Interest Group and recently co-Chaired the SCMR/ISMRM Workshop on Machine Learning in Cardiac MRI. He has worked as a medical imaging scientist in industry, at the NIH, and in academia.