Projects
Data-driven microstructure imaging with multi-dimensional diffusion MRI in early brain development KU Leuven
Understanding how human brain structure develops and grows before and around the time of birth is a grand challenge in neuroscience, with far reaching implications for our understanding of neuropsychiatric disorders. Diffusion MRI (dMRI) and other quantitative MRI relaxometry modalities offer a unique means to characterize neural tissue microstructure in vivo. However, analysis of multi-dimensional dMRI in neonatal and foetal data brings ...
Mapping the white matter fiber connections in the brain using diffusion-weighted MRI. University of Antwerp
Muscle functional MRI as an innovative biomarker for fiber type composition. Study in healthy control subjects and chronic low back pain patients. Ghent University
The invasive character of biopsy restricts extensive research on muscle fiber typing in trunk muscles. A noninvasive, in vivo alternative for biopsy may be found in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The objective of this project is to validate T2 relaxation time as an innovative biomarker for fiber type distribution and to gain fundamental insight in structural subdivision in lumbar muscles.
Unraveling the pathways of radial turgor-driven water flow in wheat stems during carbohydrate mobilization by diffusion MRI and mechanistic modelling Ghent University
Despite being the largest crop in the world, wheat hydraulic functioning is still poorly understood. A new mechanistic model simulating water flow and storage in wheat revealed that the carbohydrate storage in the stem plays an important role for continuing water supply to the developing grain, especially during drought stress. Through modelling, it was discovered that turgor-driven radial flow, as it occurs in roots, is also important in ...
In vivo molecular imaging research (IMIR). KU Leuven
Manufacturing and in vivo testing of blood substitutes KU Leuven
Blood is a precious and vital resource for manyclinical interventions. Erythrocytes, one of its key components, are used tosave thousands of lives every day worldwide. Yet, in low- and middle-incomecountries, insufficient blood donations and their unsafe control are endemicburdens that cost lives. Despite several decades of attempts, a safe anduniversal blood substitute has yet to be developed. The ambitious goal of the SynEryproject (funded ...
In vivo deformation of human articular cartillage Ghent University
This project's aim is to investigate the effect of in vivo loading and the required recovery time of ankle cartillage with regard to the knee in subjects with healthy cartilage. Subsequently, the effect of in vivo loading and the required time will be investigated in pathological, degenerated knee cartilage in osteoarthritis patients.
In situ labeling of endogenous neuronal stem cells and the visualization of their recruitment and incorporation in the mouse brain with in vivo microMRI. University of Antwerp
Functional biomarkers of cartilage mechanics in osteoarthritis – an MRI-based, multi-scale adaptive modeling framework to bridge from in vitro destructive testing to in vivo clinical applications KU Leuven
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease and significantly impairs the quality of life of those affected by this painful progressive disease. As a consequence, the economic burden is high for both the individual and society. Today, no successful preventive interventions have been identified yet. It is however known that cartilage degeneration and loss of its unique mechanical properties is the hallmark of OA and that mechanical ...