deepCEST: Non-invasive molecular MRI signatures from ultra-high-field to clinical translation

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Moritz Zaiss
• Subject Area: Medical Physics, Biomedical Technology
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 458144583

Clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain yields still limited insight with respect to stage, activity and therapy response of tumors, because conventional MRI merely detects morphological tissue changes. However, before visible morphological changes occur, diseased tissue is characterized by an altered cellular micro-environment and metabolism. The detection of these molecular changes by non-invasive MRI could revolutionize the diagnosis, characterization and therapy monitoring of various diseases. Interestingly, novel MRI methods like chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI yield a whole range of physiological information. CEST imaging generates contrasts that correlate with pH, protein content and structure, as well as concentration of different metabolites. However, this vast variety of isolated signals can until now be best generated at rare ultra-high magnetic field (UHF) research scanners due to the much lower spectral selectivity and reduced MR signal in standard clinical MRI scanners. The objective of the proposed project is to overcome this magnetic field strength gap by generating a comprehensive CEST data base, and by employing innovative machine learning approaches which exploit prior knowledge acquired at UHF. This advancement will allow feature–rich CEST imaging to be translated to clinical field strengths. To do so (i) a comprehensive multi-field strength CEST database oft he human brain will be created, (ii) innovative machine- and deep-learning algorithms will be developed to denoise and deconvolve CEST data at 3T, and (iii) unique signal pattern recognition will identify exploitable non-invasive MR biomarker signatures with respect to disease type, stage, and activity, as well as therapy response in clinical pilot studies of brain tumor patients. This extension of clinical MRI from morphologic to molecular imaging has the potential to provide much earlier and more specific diagnostics and it can empower personalized therapy to improve treatment strategy and success.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Professor Dr.-Ing. Andreas Maier