Sunnybrook Research Institute

Synaptive Medical Inc.

General Electric Company

Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center

Sunnybrook and Women's Health Sciences Centre

Charles Cunningham

Graham Arnold Wright

Andrew Thomas Curtis

Marshall Stephen Sussman

Jeffrey Alan Stainsby

Albert Po-Fu Chen

Benjamin J Geraghty

Angus Zoen Lau

William Dominquez-Viqueira

Metabolite profiles are generated from magnetic resonance images. These metabolite profiles indicate a topography of the metabolites in one or more anatomical regions. The magnetic resonance images can be metabolite images, such as those obtained using hyperpolarizedC-MRI. The metabolite profiles can be generated by parcellating the magnetic resonance images into different regions, computing z-scores for those regions, and generating the metabolite profile based on the computed z-scores.

Systems and methods for metabolite topography of the brain with magnetic resonance imaging

The present disclosure provides a system for and a method of obtaining a magnetic resonance image by performing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at multiple slices simultaneously. The method comprises generating a multiband pulse sequence for spin-echo imaging, the pulse sequence comprising a multiband excitation pulse and at least one multiband refocusing pulse, wherein the multiband excitation pulse simultaneously excites multiple bands, wherein the at least one multiband refocusing pulse simultaneously refocuses the multiple bands, and wherein the phases of the bands excited by the multiband excitation pulse and the phases of the bands refocused by the at least one multiband refocusing pulse are set according to a single row of an orthogonal encoding matrix. The multiband excitation pulse and the at least one multiband refocusing pulse collectively form a multiband pulse pair.

System and method for increased signal-to-noise ratio in multi spin-echo pulse imaging

Described here are systems and methods for using a laser-induced demagnetization of magnetic particles disbursed in a tracking marker to generate variable susceptibility effects that can be imaged with magnetic resonance imaging ('MRI'). As one example, laser power is delivered to nickel particles using fiber optics. This demagnetization effect can be used in rapid tracking of interventional devices by subtracting the two images acquired when the laser is off and on.

System and method for device tracking via magnetic resonance imaging with light-modulated magnetic susceptibility markers

Described here are systems and methods for correcting magnetic resonance data for off-resonance effects arising from the use of a multi-echo echo planar imaging ('EPI') pulse sequence. Reference data are acquired, from which phase maps are computed in a distorted coordinate space associated with geometric distortions associated with the multi-echo EPI acquisition. Images reconstructed from the magnetic resonance data are demodulated using the distorted phase maps to produce distortion free images of the subject. Advantageously, the systems and methods can be used to reconstruct distortion free images from magnetic resonance data that is otherwise prone to image distortions from off-resonance errors, including data acquired from hyperpolarized nuclear spin species such as hyperpolarized carbon-13.

System and method for producing distortion free magnetic resonance images using dual-echo echo-planar imaging

Disclosed embodiments for assessing brown adipose tissue use imaging of metabolic contrast agents. For example, activated brown adipose tissue may be assessed by evaluating a difference in production of the hyperpolarizedC metabolic contrast agent from a pre-polarizedC metabolic contrast agent precursor before and after exposure of the subject to an activating event or agent. In one embodiment, the subject is given a dose of norepinephrine, and the production of the hyperpolarizedC metabolic contrast agent before and after the dose is assessed.

Functional brown adipose tissue imaging technique

A tracking device configured to be coupled to an interventional instrument and tracked by a magnetic resonance imaging system is provided. The tracking device includes, for example, paramagnetic and diamagnetic components that form first and second tracking members. When the tracking device is adjusted into a first arrangement, the tracking device will produce a local magnetic field in the presence of the magnetic field of an MRI system that is measurable by the MRI system. However, when the tracking device is adjusted into a second arrangement, the local magnetic field produced by the tracking device is reduced relative to the first arrangement, wherein the reduced local magnetic field produces substantially no magnetic field disturbances detectable by the MRI system. Images may be acquired of a patient in which the tracking device has been introduced and, using a numerical fitting method, an accurate location of the tracking device can be determined.

Interventional instrument tracking device imageable with magnetic resonance imaging and method for use thereof

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses direct, continuous, unaliased, real-time imaging for motion compensation. Unaliased, real-time two dimensional (2D) images are acquired continuously of the anatomy of interest. The images are compared to at least one template to using a correlation coefficient technique to select images corresponding to minimal motion and distortion. A spatial grid of templates can be used to cover an anatomy of interest. Multiple temporal templates can be used to create a time series of magnetic resonance (MR) images. The selected images are used to provide a high-resolution image, preferably a three dimensional (3D) image.

Growing community of inventors

Toronto, Canada

Charles Cunningham