Project Details
Projekt
Functional assessment of renal pathologies: Diameter mapping of renal tubules using non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging
Subject Area
Nuclear Medicine, Radiotherapy, Radiobiology
Medical Physics, Biomedical Technology
Medical Physics, Biomedical Technology
Term
from 2018 to 2020
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 408765040
Although great progress has been obtained in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the kidneys, biopsy is currently still the means of choice for the diagnosis of unclear kidney diseases. In order to reduce the number of biopsies and thus the burden on patients and the risk of complications, a further improvement of the non-invasive diagnostic imaging of kidney pathologies is desirable.In addition to high-resolution MRI of the renal anatomy, functional MRI methods have been developed, for example, to provide information on perfusion, the oxygenation state or diffusion properties and thus also on the microstructure of the kidney.Different kidney pathologies lead to a change of the diameter of the tubules and thus also the microstructure. For example tubular hypertrophy, as caused by diabetes mellitus, is associated with altered tubule diameters. Therefore, especially in acute and chronic renal failure, the diameter of the tubules may be a sensitive parameter for the early detection of renal pathologies. Currently, microstructural changes of the tubular diameters can only be determined by light microscopy of in vitro tissue extracts.The aim of the proposed project is to develop a non-invasive and contrast-free, MRI-based method that provides novel information on the microscopic structure of the renal parenchyma and, in particular, on the diameters of the renal tubules.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
