ISMRM21 - Thinking Hyperpolarization: A Multinuclear Window into the Brain

Thinking Hyperpolarization: A Multinuclear Window into the Brain

Member-Initiated Symposium

Monday, 17 May 2021

Concurrent 8

16:00 - 16:30

Moderators: Petra Hüppi & N. Jon Shah

Session Number: MIS-14

Parent Session: Thinking Hyperpolarization: A Multinuclear Window into the Brain

Session Number:MIS-14

Organizers
Arnaud Comment, Jean-Noël Hyacinthe, Rosa Tamara Branca

Overview
This Symposium was proposed by the Hyperpolarized Media MR study group. In the challenging move away from "one size fits all" to personalized medicine, molecular imaging of the processes involved in human diseases is essential. However, despite steady developments in past decades, current efforts in medical imaging (especially for the brain) rely on bulky and expensive high-field MRI or hybrid scanners. Additionally, lack of sensitivity, low spatial resolution, or accessibility, all hinder the applicability of medical imaging to address the major healthcare challenges. Hyperpolarization (HP) dramatically improves MR sensitivity and could open new avenues for molecular imaging. The established hyperpolarization techniques can routinely produce highly polarized MRI tracers in a clinical environment. Xenon has been a gold standard brain perfusion tracer in SPECT for decades, while imaging the intermediates of the metabolic processes is essential in many brain diseases. Nevertheless, despite pioneering works, most of the developments in HP MRI have been focusing on other organs. This symposium will consist of four scientific presentations of the state of the art in probing the brain with HP tracers, both on the biological side and the technological challenges associated with HP MRI in the brain. These talks will be followed by a discussion moderated by a panel of experts (listed above as "moderators") of the brain, with no HP expertise, to challenge potential neuro applications of Hyperpolarized MRI, and ideally trigger new common research interests.

Target Audience
All ISMRM/SMRT attendees involved or interested in quantitative neuroimaging, metabolic imaging, or hyperpolarized MRI.

Educational Objectives
As a result of attending this course, participants should be able to:
Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to: - Explain the current unmet needs in neuroimaging and how hyperpolarized tracers may help addressing them; - Describe how HP 129Xe is performing as a brain perfusion tracer compared to existing gold standards and MRI references; - Examine applications of HP 13C metabolic imaging of the brain; and - Recognize the technical challenges of performing HP MRI in the brain and proposed strategies.

			Imaging the Brain: What’s Missing? Javier Villanueva-Meyer University of California, San Francisco
			Imaging Beyond Brain Perfusion Using 129Xe MRI Madhwesha Rao University of Sheffield
			Detecting Metabolic Abnormalities in the Diseased Brain by HP 13C MRI Myriam Chaumeil University of California, San Francisco
			HP 13C MRI of Brain Metastases: New Frontiers Charles Cunningham University of Toronto