Our laboratory specializes in developing and implementing advanced MRI diagnostics, encompassing functional MRI, tractography, quantitative blood flow analysis, and novel approaches for investigating neurological disorders, vascular diseases, and brain development in children and fetuses, with particular focus on myelin mapping.
Research Focus AreasStroke remains a leading cause of disability, increasingly affecting younger working-age individuals. Understanding neuroplasticity—the brain's ability to reorganize after injury—is crucial for developing new rehabilitation strategies.
Our laboratory has created a comprehensive diagnostic approach combining multimodal MRI (including DTI, ASL, and rs-fMRI) with detailed clinical assessment using NIHSS, MoCA, and Rankin scales. By optimizing imaging protocols and data analysis algorithms, we can precisely track recovery processes at the level of perfusion, functional connectivity, and white matter microstructure. This integrated method enables personalized rehabilitation programs tailored to each patient's unique brain reorganization patterns, particularly important for helping individuals return to work and daily life.
Proper fetal nervous system development depends critically on myelin sheath formation, which begins as early as 18-20 weeks of gestation and continues through childhood. Myelin abnormalities can lead to serious neurological disorders, but conventional MRI often detects them too late for effective intervention.
To address this challenge, we developed rapid macromolecular proton fraction mapping—an innovative technique that quantifies myelination levels using standard MRI scans with specialized processing algorithms. This method enables:
- Early identification of developmental disorders
- Detection of cerebellar tumors and brain malformations before birth
Disruptions in brain blood supply and cerebrospinal fluid circulation underlie many severe neurological conditions, from strokes to hydrocephalus. Conventional diagnostic methods often detect these abnormalities too late, when damage becomes irreversible. Our laboratory has introduced groundbreaking MRI techniques that enable early and precise evaluation of vascular and CSF system function.
For assessing cerebral blood flow, we have enhanced phase-contrast MR angiography (2D PCA) to measure blood velocity and volume in major vessels, combined with dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion MRI for capillary-level tissue analysis. These advances prove particularly valuable for identifying early signs of ischemia and other vascular changes preceding stroke.
In CSF dynamics research, we've developed specialized techniques including high-resolution 3D imaging and quantitative phase-contrast MRI (Quantitative Flow), allowing precise measurement of CSF flow parameters, detection of anatomical abnormalities in CSF pathways, and evaluation of their patency. These methods have become essential in diagnosing hydrocephalus and intracranial hypertension, where characteristic CSF flow alterations serve as early disease markers.
Since this approach requires no additional hardware and works with standard MRI scanners, it can be readily implemented in clinical practice, opening new possibilities for early intervention in neurological disorders.
