Physics and Impact of Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Michael Boss,
Each year, millions of U.S. patients are scanned using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), costing billions of dollars. The resultant images are typically qualitative, limiting the ability to compare results across patients, time, and scanners. However, a suite of physical parameters (e.g., relaxation times, diffusion coefficients) are interrogable with magnetic resonance, enabling quantitative imaging biomarkers (QIBs). QIBs can provide threshold values for disease diagnosis, allow meaningful measurement of longitudinal change for evaluating treatment response, and permit real-time monitoring of medical procedures. In this seminar, we will examine the physics behind quantitative MRI, and the present utility of QIBs in cancer and brain imaging. We will discuss the development of measurement and documentary standards for quantitative MRI. Finally, we will look at the pathway for implementing quantitative MRI in the clinic, and its potential impact and benefit to patients.
host K. Kash