Immersion Week 5 - RF

     My penultimate week of Immersion has continued to introduce me to new avenues of MRI and radiology. I began my rotation at an MRI laboratory this week. My first project involves learning Sim4Life, a powerful simulation software which is very useful for designing and analyszing MRI coils. I began evaluating the effect of distance between coils on the B1+ and B1- fields, as well as on the reflection coefficients. I look forward to the results. Next week I will be able to view in vivo testing of these coils at the CBIC, which will be fascinating. 

    Additionally, I was able to attend an MRI training session this Thursday. This was my first non-cardiac MRI, focusing instead on the brain. I had seen the Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) sequence in cardiac, but it was really informational to do so in a non-clinical setting when the imaging technician could explain each step and the underlying physics. The study also assessed oxygenation fraction in the brain which differs significantly with cardiac QSM procedure. The cardiac QSM focuses on oxygenation of blood passing through the heart, not through cardiac vasculature. It was also generally interesting to see the brain which can really only be imaged using MRI.

        My paper with my clinical mentor has begun wrapping up. We introduced survival analyses into the study which garnered significant results. Patients with abnormal RVGLS (<10%) demonstrated significantly lower survival when compared to patients with normal RVGLS. This will provide a novel insight into the prognostic ability of RVGLS. Reproducibility studies will need to be conducted which will most likely occur after the end of Immersion. 

    Aside from research, I have had a pretty quiet week in NYC to prep for an activity-filled final week. Can't wait to make the most out of my last 8 days!