Characterization of involuntary spontaneous focal muscle activity by means of motion-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging and automated post-processing of data

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Fritz Schick; Professor Dr. Ludger Schöls; Professor Dr.-Ing. Bin Yang
• Subject Area: Medical Physics, Biomedical Technology
• Term: from 2017 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 337721085

• Final Report Year: 2025

Final Report Abstract

The goal of the funded project was to expand the imaging capabilities of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for recording spontaneous muscular activities that can occur in healthy individuals as well as in the course of neuromuscular diseases. Within the project, muscle groups that are relevant in the diagnosis of neuromuscular diseases were examined and the recording and analysis techniques were optimized. A significant improvement in the recording technique was achieved by visualizing the temporal course of individual muscular contractions, which was not possible in this form at the start of the project. Modelling the acquisition process led to a better understanding of the findings as well as an optimized parameterization of the MRI and thus provides a good basis for further research projects. A final study with a methodical comparison and patient examinations showed promising results of this new technique.

Publications

• Classification-guided Neural Network-based Correction of Magnetic Resonance-related Gradient Artifact Residuals in Simultaneously Recorded Surface Electromyography. 2022 44th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society (EMBC), 3632-3635. IEEE.
  Schwartz, Martin; Yang, Bin & Schick, Fritz
  
• “Simulation of the Capability of Diffusion-Weighted Stimulated-Echo Imaging to Visualize Spontaneous Muscular Activities in Resting Musculature”, ISMRM-ESMRMB, 2022, #1028
  Schwartz M., Martirosian P., Steidle G., Feiweier T., Yang B. & Schick F.
  
• “Imaging of the Contraction Pattern of Spontaneous Muscular Activities using a Multiple-Point Diffusion-Weighted Stimulated Echo Sequence”, ISMRM, 2023, #4060
  Schwartz M., Martirosian P., Steidle G., Yang B. & Schick F.
  
• „Improved Quantitative Spatial Analysis of Spontaneous Muscular Activities using Label Uncertainty and Feature Analysis“, ISMRM, 2023, #1697
  Schwartz M., Martirosian P., Steidle G., Yang B. & Schick F.
  
• „Quantitative spatial and temporal analysis of spontaneous muscular activities visualized by diffusion-weighted imaging”, ESMRMB, 2023, #P130
  Schwartz M., Martirosian P., Steidle G., Feiweier T., Yang B., Schöls L. & Schick F.
  
• „Investigating the Influence of the Mixing Time in Multiple Point Diffusion-Weighted Stimulated Echo Imaging for Visualizing Dynamic Spontaneous Muscular Contraction“, ESMRMB, 2024, #426
  Schwartz M., Martirosian P., Steidle G., Yang B. & Schick F.
  
• „Imaging Properties of Multiple Point in Time Stimulated Echo Data Acquisition for Visualization of Spontaneous Muscular Contractions”, ISMRM, 2025, #2227
  Schwartz M., Martirosian P., Fritz V., Steidle G., Yang B. & Schick F.