Imaging Core
Lawrence P. Panych, PhD, Core PI
MR Image-guided therapy (IGT) applications often involve requirements that are difficult to achieve using standard imaging approaches and tools. For example, to achieve high temporal resolution, it is often necessary to compromise on volume coverage. Enhanced imaging methods such as parallel imaging can help to achieve imaging goals such as high temporal resolution while minimizing compromises elsewhere. Specialized tools such as real-time imaging controls are also of importance for MR image-guided therapy. To some extent, capabilities such as parallel imaging and real-time control have been implemented on commercial MR systems. However, such implementations are limited and are rarely ideal for IGT applications.
Objectives
A principal goal of the Imaging Core within the National Center for Image-Guided Therapy is to develop freely available libraries of functions to support enhanced imaging in IGT. Specifically, as a Core of an NIH National Resource Center, a central component of our mission is to disseminate a toolbox of enhanced imaging libraries to the broader IGT community and to provide expertise in its use to support IGT applications. To date, the Core has built three separate but compatible libraries containing:
- functions to support real-time data acquisition, reconstruction and scanner control
- functions to support enhanced imaging including the principal parallel imaging methods, temporal sampling methods such as UNFOLD and other fast imaging approaches
- functions to enable 2D RF selective excitation for reduced field-of-view imaging.
In addition to the development of these libraries, the Core has worked to apply them synergistically in a series of IGT applications such as thermal monitoring during focused ultrasound treatments and the tracking of devices during IGT procedures.
Projects
Ongoing research projects involving the Imaging Core include:
- Toolbox to Support Enhanced MR Imaging in Image-Guided Therapy
- Real-time imaging platform for MR monitoring during focused ultrasound treatments
- RF Encoding
- K-space energy spectrum analysis for echo-planar imaging
Features
Questions and Answers from the pulse-programming workshop
Each week physicists with the NCIGT Imaging Core host a pulse-programming workshop to discuss practical problems and issues related to pulse programming on MRI systems. As we deal with questions from the workshop, we will endevour to post our wisdom on this site for the benefit of others struggling with the difficulties of programming on these systems. Currently, all of our work is on GE systems and the workshop is focused on issues related to the GE Signa platform. Soon, however, our crew will be working on Siemens systems and our experience will be reflected through questions posted here as well.
We welcome feedback. If you think that answers are in error or there is a lack of important information, please email to let us know. Contact panych at bwh.harvard.edu.