Ultrahigh Field Neuroimaging: Shining the Brightest Light on the Living Human Brain

ABSTRACT

This talk will cover the current capabilities offered by ultrahigh field (7T) human MRI scanners to visualize the living human brain in unprecedented detail and through multiple different windows. Clinical applications of ultrahigh field neuroimaging in the fields of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry will also be highlighted. The talk will conclude with a discussion of future directions, including the use of ultrahigh field neuroimaging to understand the effects of novel therapies and to contribute to more quantitative imaging.

BIOGRAPHY

Priti Balchandani, PhD, is a Professor of Diagnostic, Molecular, and Interventional Radiology, Neuroscience, and Psychiatry. She is the Director of the Advanced Neuroimaging Research Program (ANRP) and Associate Director of the BioMedical Engineering and Imaging Institute (BMEII). She is also the Co-Director of the Center for Engineering and Precision Medicine (CEPM), the first joint center between Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). The CEPM is a new venture to bridge engineering and biomedical science expertise between ISMMS and RPI. As the co-director of the CEPM, she is building a new research and PhD program from the ground up and is working with the CEPM leadership team to set the strategic vision for the center, secure funding, and oversee all operational aspects. Her individual research program has been focused on bridging the gap between advanced electrical engineering techniques and medical imaging applications. She applies signals and systems principles to image the human brain in unprecedented detail and with new sources of signal and contrast. She develops novel MRI techniques to visualize detailed anatomy as well as vasculature, neuronal fiber tracts, and metabolic characteristics in order to obtain a more complete understanding of the effects of disease on the brain. She has applied these methods to improve epilepsy treatment, guide skull base tumor surgery, and study the biological mechanisms underlying psychiatric illness. Her work on overcoming some of the main limitations of operating at high magnetic fields has resulted in several innovative tools with wide applicability for human brain imaging and spectroscopy. These techniques are ultimately applied to improve diagnosis, treatment, and surgical planning for a range of neurological diseases and disorders. She has been the principal investigator on multiple NIH-funded projects focused on utilizing 7T imaging to help guide the diagnosis and treatment of neurological diseases. Dr. Balchandani received her BASc in computer engineering at the University of Waterloo in Canada and her PhD in electrical engineering at Stanford University.