Multinuclear upgrade/extension for ultra highfield MRT

• Subject Area: Medicine
• Term: Funded in 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 458912084

Imaging of molecular and cellular cardiovascular processes by X-nuclei magnetic resonance techniques is promising to become one of the most relevant applications of translational ultra-high field MRI. 19F MR tracers, which are ingested by macrophages, may quantify extend and time course of inflammation following myocardial infarction or during myocarditis. This should allow to obtain prognostic parameters and to evaluate immunomodulatory therapies with the final aim, to apply them to patients. Another application focuses on the differential quantification of free and bound fractions of sodium in the intra- and extracellular space of myocardium. These sodium fractions affect in a complex, in large parts not well understood, way remodelling of the extracellular matrix, which may be important for the development of heart failure. The relationship of these different sodium fractions, as well as the effect of interventions, e.g. by application of SGLT2 inhibitors, will be obtained for several disease-models /pathologies as myocardial infarction, various forms of cardiac hypertrophy, and diabetes. Characterization of myocardial energetics of ischemic, hypertrophic and dilative cardiomyopathy by 31P spectroscopy / imaging is another focus. In particular, the effect of new therapeutic strategies targeting mitochondria or the sarcomer in cardiomyopathies will be investigated. In advance of all these biomedical aims, sophisticated technical and methodical developments have to be accomplished. This refers to coil construction and validation as well as establishing of dedicated sequences. Combined 1H/X-nuclei coils are a prerequisite to obtain besides molecular/cellular also morphological and functional information. In 19F MRI multiple resonances of common fluorocarbon tracers are a challenge, which may be tackled by selective spectral excitation or fingerprinting techniques. Differential sodium MRI depends on ultrashort echo time sequences (UTE), which must be combined with special k-space trajectories (stack of spirals) which are robust against gradient artefacts. Essential for all technical and biomedical projects mentioned above is the implementation of a special hard-/ software upgrade/extension (multinuclear support). Without this, neither X-nuclei coils operate nor may sequences be developed. This upgrade/extension is applied in this proposal.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Multinuklear (X-Kern) - Erweiterung für ein Ultrahochfeld-MRT
• Instrumentation Group: 3231 MR-Tomographie-Systeme
• Applicant Institution: Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
• Leader: Professor Wolfgang Rudolf Bauer