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Jim Holmes to present MRRF Seminar on Friday, Feb. 12, 2021

 

Perfusion serves as an important marker for many diseases including cancer, stroke, and neurodegeneration. Traditionally, MRI based perfusion methods have been restricted to qualitative or semi-quantitative results due to numerous confounders such as temporal resolution, local B0 and B1 inhomogeneity, subject motion and physiology, as well as system-to-system and vendor-to-vendor variability.  Current Dynamic Contrast Enhanced (DCE)-MRI strategies for breast imaging provide high sensitivity for cancer detection but are known to be insufficient for fully capturing rapidly changing contrast kinetics at high spatial resolution across both breasts. Advanced acquisition and reconstruction strategies aim to improve spatial and temporal resolution and increase specificity for disease characterization. Our group has developed an alternative data-driven low-rank-based reconstruction method, known as MOdel Consistency COndition (MOCCO), with radial acquisition and has validated the spatial and temporal fidelity in the setting of high spatial-temporal breast DCE-MRI. 

Velocity Selective Arterial Spin Labeling (VS-ASL) is a promising approach for non-contrast perfusion imaging that provides robustness to vascular geometry and transit times. However, VS-ASL assumes spatially uniform tagging efficiency. Several groups are working to develop improved tagging pulses to reduce sensitivity to confounders such as Bo, B1, eddy currents, and acceleration. A mapping approach will be presented for investigation of VS-ASL relative tagging efficiency including the impact of local susceptibility effects in the setting of brain imaging, focusing on a BIR-8 preparation for brain imaging.

Jim Holmes, Ph.D., is a researcher and clinical scientist in the Department of Radiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research includes body and breast imaging with a focus on motion-robust dynamic imaging, non-Cartesian methods, and Arterial Spin Labeling. Prior to joining UW-Madison, Dr. Holmes was a Scientist on the Body Imaging Team of the Global Applied Science Laboratory and Applications and Workflow organizations within the GE Healthcare MR Business. He completed his Ph.D. in Medical Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying lung MRI using hyperpolarized gas. Before joining medical physics, he worked as a Measurements Engineer for Corning Incorporated. Jim is originally an Iowa native, growing up in the town of Central City, completing a B.A. at Wartburg College and a M.S. in Physics at The University of Iowa.

Date: 
Thursday, February 4, 2021