Ultrasound and MRI

Ultrasound research in Trondheim started in the mid-1970s with the development and clinical trials of Doppler blood flow measurement for non-invasive diagnosis of heart valve disorders. A few years later, industrial production started in Horten as a result of the research and development in Trondheim. This collaboration continued during the 1980s in cooperation with SINTEF.

The research group has a strong commitment to the development of new technology. This includes new transducers, new methods of signal processing, and new methods enabling better detection of ultrasound contrast agents.

At the same time, extensive activity is taking place in the translation of new technological possibilities into improved clinical practice, with projects involving cardiology, cardiac surgery, vascular surgery, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. There is also close collaboration with GE Vingmed Ultrasound AS, which has a development department for ultrasound in cardiology co-located with the Department.

Contacts for ultrasound research are professors Hans Torp, Bjørn Angelsen and Asbjørn Støylen.

While the MRI research is less involved in the development of new technology, it involves important activity in the development of manganese as an MRI contrast agent. It includes studying heart muscle viability, looking at the activity in nerves and nerve pathways, and basic research investigating the potential for in vivo measurements of water exchange over cell membranes.

The MRI research also includes the translation of new technological potential into improved clinical practice. An important initiative is taking place in cooperation with the National Competence Centre for Functional MR (collaboration between the research communities in Bergen and Trondheim) for new methods in functional and quantitative structural MR of the brain. This includes the methods BOLD fMRI for localization of brain activity, diffusion tensor imaging of connectivity in white matter, perfusion MRI and quantitative structural MRI of cortical thickness and volume of grey matter cores. This research is taking place in close cooperation with the Martinos Center at Harvard-MIT/Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston and the University of California in San Diego with Anders M. Dale as associated international Adjunct Professor.

Another important activity is taking place in collaboration with the National Resource Centre for Clinical MR Spectroscopy, where new methods in proton MR spectroscopy (MRS) of tumours in the brain, prostate and breast are being studied.

Equipment resources for the research include state-of-the-art instruments in clinical research (3 Tesla Philips Intera), animal experimental research (7 Tesla Bruker Biospec) and high-resolution magnetic resonance spectroscopy (600 MHz Bruker Avance).

In MRI, there is also a FUGE (functional genomics) technology platform in molecular imaging (MIC Trondheim), which has a national service function. Its own research priorities include developing manganese as a contrast agent, developing carbon-13 imaging for in vivo metabolism studies of the brain, and methods for tracking and assessing the viability/ function of implanted stem cells.

Contacts for MRI research are Prof. Ingrid Gribbestad, Prof. Olav Haraldseth and Post. doc. Marte Thuen.

Recent Publications

Haberg et al (2009) Acute changes in intermediary metabolism in cerebellum and contralateral hemisphere following middle cerebral artery occlusion in rat

Lehn et al. (2009) A Specific Role of the Human Hippocampus in Recall of Temporal Sequences

Strien et al. (2009) The anatomy of memory: an interactive overview of the parahippocampal–hippocampal network

Xu et al. (2007) Diffuse Axonal Injury in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Visualized Using High-Resolution Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Xu et al (2007) A growth in bipolar disorder?