Developing Spiral MR Technology

Our research focuses on inventing, developing and applying new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, especially techniques that acquire the image data very rapidly and techniques for quantitative image analysis.  This work involves MRI physics, signal processing, deep learning, and image reconstruction techniques. Rapid MRI acquisition is particularly important in clinical applications that require freezing respiratory, cardiac, or voluntary motion, such as cardiac imaging and pediatric imaging.  It also enables real-time guidance of surgery and the monitoring of physiological processes such as the perfusion of blood into tissue. 

We collaborate with other labs at the University of Virginia on a variety of projects.  One such collaboration applies rapid MR methods to the clinical problem of imaging myocardial perfusion.  Another collaboration is focused on developing image-based models of muscle. We are also studying peripheral arterial disease through a set of MRI methods.  In collaboration with the active hyperpolarized-gas MRI group, we are developing fast methods of imaging the lung.