BME Seminar: Richard L. Magin, PhD - Models of Diffusion Signal Decay in Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Capturing Complexity

Armour College of Engineering's Biomedical Engineering Department will host a seminar featuring Richard L. Magin, PhD, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at The University of Illinois at Chicago on Friday, February 2, 2018

Abstract

Diffusion-weighted MRI is a key component of clinical medicine. Using DW-MRI, radiologists seek to connect the decay of the diffusion signal with changes in macroscopic (diffusion tensor imaging) and microscopic (q-space imaging) tissue structure. This multi-scale problem has stimulated the creation of diffusion models spanning phenomena in cells, tissues, and organs. Such models can be based on simulations, stochastic processes, cellular structures, or physical and physiological constraints. Several mathematical models (linear, non-linear, integer, and fractional orders) have been used to fit diffusion attenuation in complex biological tissues, such as brain white and gray matter. This talk focuses not on solving the Bloch-Torrey equation or on fitting data. Still, on the choices (Gaussian, anomalous, anisotropic) a researcher often has to make when beginning the analysis of diffusion data. It is hoped that this presentation, while oversimplified, will be useful to students and new investigators who seek a primer on model selection and characterization. Examples will illustrate the relationship between the functional form of the diffusion decay rate and, in the case of a Stejskal-Tanner gradient pulse sequence, the expected signal decay. Model limitations will be noted, and links to more advanced models will be provided.

Speaker Bio

Richard L. Magin (IEEE M’69–SM’81–F’96) received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in physics from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA, in 1969 and 1972, respectively. He received his Ph.D. degree in biophysics from the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA, in 1976. He was a postdoctoral student in the Laboratory of Chemical Pharmacology of the National Cancer Institute (NIH) from 1976 to 1979. From 1979 to 1999, he was an Assistant, Associate, and full Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He moved to Chicago in 1999 to become Head of the Department of Bioengineering (1999-2009) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). He is a distinguished professor at the Richard and Loan Hill Department of Bioengineering at UIC. His research interests focus on applying magnetic resonance imaging in science and engineering. He served as Editor for the journal, Critical Reviews in Biomedical Engineering (2005–2010). Professor Magin is a member of the Institute of Electrical Engineering (IEEE), the Biomedical Engineering Society, and the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). In 2005, he received a Fulbright grant for research and teaching in Kosice, Slovakia.