Research Projects

MRTD has multiple research projects in the heart and the brain. 

Currently, our program is supported by an AHA AIREA grant (2019-202), and an NIH K25 grant HL141634 (2019-2024).

The MRTD research projects are briefly summarized below:

PROJECT 1: QUANTITATIVE MR-BASED BIOMARKERS FOR IMPROVED DETECTION OF TISSUE DISEASE AND DAMAGE – WITH FOCUS IN THE HEART AND BRAIN 

MRTD's research at IIT and UCMC will focus on the engineering development and validation of novel quantitative MR image-based biomarkers that can detect both presence and extent of tissue disease (ischemia) and damage (infarction).  These quantitative approaches can help clinicians in the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of conditions such as acute and chronic heart diseases, as well as neurovascular strokes in emergency room settings. 

PROJECT 2: CLINICAL TRANSLATION OF DEVELOPED MR TECHNOLOGIES THROUGH EXISTING COLLABORATIONS

MRTD's second research direction is to establish an effective inter-institutional research collaboration to solve specific needs of clinicians using biomedical engineering. The goal will be to embed Biomedical Engineers from IIT into the clinical hospital setting, and conduct development research on emerging medical technologies from ideation to clinical evaluation. 

PROJECT 3:    ENGINEERING DESIGN OF NEXT-GENERATION MR SYSTEMS PLATFORM TECHNOLOGIES 

MRTD builds specific technologies that interface with a dedicated Real-Time and Interactive communication protocol; a novel approach that can potentially change the fundamental way MRI systems acquire imaging data. Either as trainee-led research steps for obtaining superior quantitative MR-based measures, or as modular graduate-level BME design projects – MRTD's lab personnel team members will gain exposure to the full biomedical engineering design process.