ViSE Seminar Series: In Vivo Three-Dimensional Measurement of Brain Deformation During a Mild Head Acceleration, SC 5326, Monday August 5, 11:50. Lunch provided.
In Vivo Three-Dimensional Measurement of Brain Deformation During a Mild Head Acceleration
Speaker:
Dzung Pham, PhD
Director, Image Processing Core, Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine (CNRM)
Date: Monday, August 5th
Time: 11:50 Social, Noon Seminar Start
Place: Stevenson Center, 5326
Abstract:
In order to better predict and treat impairments resulting from brain trauma, a fundamental understanding of how the brain is damaged during a traumatic event is necessary. In this project, we perform the first three-dimensional (3-D) measurements of the brain during a mild head acceleration in living human subjects. We build upon the model pioneered by our collaborator, Dr. Philip Bayly. The model places a human subject in a magnetic resonance (MR) scanner with an apparatus that supports the head and allows a head rotation of approximately thirty degrees. The support is latched in such a way that it can be released by the subject, travel a short distance, and come to a rigid stop. The resulting acceleration/deceleration is small and in the range of normal activities. Using MR tagging, a technique traditionally used to measure cardiac motion, deformation of the human brain can be detected in vivo. The acquired images can then be analyzed to produce maps of brain tissue displacement and strain. When combined with structural MR imaging, these methods can help determine brain structures susceptible to damage during a more severe acceleration encountered during a traumatic brain injury.