The focus is to improved spatial resolution in coronary imaging and has resulted in the development of a high magnetic field MR method that allows imaging of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease at an unprecedented MR in-plane resolution of 350 m. This method allows coronary imaging with an order of magnitude reduction in voxel size vs routine state-of-the-art imaging. Preliminary experience indicates this is a functional technique even in patients with significant coronary artery disease where flow based signal to noise is compromised. Moreover, since this is without ionizing radiation it is potentially useful for young subjects and monitoring of therapy More recently we have developed a noninvasive coronary vessel wall imaging method utilizing time-resolved (20 milliseconds) dynamic imaging that allows for a more robust technique to visualize and quantify the thickness of the walls of coronary arteries. This technique is less affected by motion related distortions and is therefore able to more reliably detect early coronary artery thickening, a progressive morphologic step in CAD development. This technique is dubbed TRAPD (Time Resolved Acquisition of Phase sensitive Dual inversion recovery). This is a unique non-invasive method available with the potential to characterize and study coronary artery disease in humans and its response to various lipid lowering and anti-inflammatory therapies. The application of these methods describe CT/MRI defined coronary abnormalities in patients with HIV and was utilized to quantify the atherosclerotic plaque burden in patients with Cushings Syndrome. Initial progress has been made as publication list indicates. The study has also integrated the use of a large bore high magnetic field MR scanner with the use of a metabolic unit to characterize metabolic activity in subjects with a wide range of body mass indexes. An improvement and technical advancement in MR spectroscopy, developed by the lab, has also been applied to measure the fat in the heart, liver, pancreas and muscles, and to correlate measurements with metabolic activity. The capability to measure more that just fat (glycogen and choline) in the liver is unprecedented using proton spectroscopy. The opportunity to look at metabolites such as liver glycogen and choline opens the door for better understanding of lipid and glucose metabolism under a more controlled environment of a metabolic unit. Additionally, the introduction of new techniques for liver fibrosis assessment in these subjects using a high magnetic field and internal cardiac and external pulsation may allow for more comprehensive and early detection.
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