"Inferring Axon Diameters with MRI"
Axons are part of neurons which are cells in the brain and spinal cord. Recent studies indicate possible changes in axon diameter distributions associated with neurological disorders such as schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders, diabetes, dyslexia, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. The methods currently available for measuring axon diameters are highly invasive, requiring sectioning of brain tissue for electron microscopy, and are limited due to fixation and cutting artifacts, the need to use post mortem tissue, and the use of only small tissue sample sizes.
Using oscillating gradient spin echo sequences combined with axon diameter models such as ActiveAx and AxCaliber we have shown it is possible to infer submicron compartment sizes with magnetic resonance imaging. In this talk I will show inferences of micron and submicron sized compartments in phantoms, and axons in human and animal tissue samples. I will also show progress toward reducing imaging time in order to create a clinically applicable sequence.
About the Speaker
Dr. Melanie Martin is a Professor of Physics and the Director of the Magnetic Resonance Microscopy Centre at the University of Winnipeg. She is the co-director of the newly formed Brain Imaging and Metabolic Research Lab and was a Chancellor’s Research Chair. Dr. Martin was a postdoc and Associate Scientist at Caltech. She received her PhD, MPhil, and MS in Biomedical Engineering from Yale University and her BSc (Hons) from University of Manitoba.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://illinois.zoom.us/j/82872872138?pwd=ajd0dXpSTHRKOFl1NnBzSXFrSFBndz09
Meeting ID: 828 7287 2138
Password: 795684
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,82872872138# US (Chicago)
