Project Grant K99EB035178

The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) awarded a $103,441 Project Grant (Award ID: K99EB035178) to The Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford University) under the Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health (CFDA 93.286) program. The project aims to develop and validate a rapid, distortion- and blurring-free, and motion- and magnetic field-robust technique for submillimeter-resolution T2* and quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) of the human brain. This technique, called Spherical-Coverage Echo-Planar Time-Resolved Imaging (SEPTI), will leverage deep learning for accelerated reconstruction to enable a 4X reduction in scan time compared to current state-of-the-art methods. The project also involves developing a multi-channel spin-trajectory navigator to achieve accurate motion and magnetic field estimation for robust QSM quantification. The research seeks to translate these innovations to applications in challenging populations, including infants and multiple sclerosis patients, demonstrating the potential for wide neuroscientific and clinical impact. The award period runs from August 1, 2024, to July 31, 2026.