The focus of the Human Imaging Core (Director: Dr. Bradley Erickson) is to provide critical human imaging capabilities to MTPC investigators and extended national and international faculty by making a variety of services available. These include imaging protocol development; image transfer, management and storage; volumetric and other quantitative analysis (cyst distribution, cyst parenchyma-surface area, Dual energy CT) and advanced MR imaging analysis (renal blood flow measurements, intracranial aneurysm detection, and MR elastography) of affected organs in ADPKD. During the past grant cycle to date, the Human Imaging Core has provided image analysis for six NIH, two PKD Foundation, five industry, and three Mayo funded clinical studies or trials. These include volumetric analysis of 2,669 CT and 2,434 MR scans of kidneys or livers, in addition to MR measurements of RBF and other image analyses in a smaller number of patients. The volumetric analysis alone has taken approximately 5,613 hours. The Human Imaging Core has also assisted in the design and management of MR images from Mayo patients with ADPKD participating in multicenter clinical trials (CRISP and HALT) and the protocol development for DIPAK 1 (a clinical trial of Lanreotide supported by the Dutch Kidney Foundation and IPSEN Pharmaceutica). In addition, six new core services that were developed during the prior period: automated kidney segmentation from stereology, image-based classification of patients, magnetic resonance elastography, dual energy CT to characterize renal stones, renal blood flow, cyst- parenchyma surface area, are now available to researchers. Furthermore, the Human Imaging Core actively develops new technologies to enhance the breadth of offerings or the value of the current services. Technologies under development include: novel imaging methods for characterizing PKD (magnetization transfer imaging, diffusion, and blood-oxygen level determination) and differentiating cysts and parenchymal tissues. In addition to providing the services, the core offers training in these techniques. The core has educated and trained a large number of individuals from across the world on the proper use of tools to measure TKV and has also shared some of our algorithms developed in the past grant cycle. For these reasons, we believe that the Human Imaging Core is a critical resource for the study of PKD, and is a unique strength of the current application, as no other PKD Center has such a core.
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