# Patient-adjustable MRI technology for high-resolution imaging of deep brain stimulation

> **NIH NIH R00** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $243,469

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved neurosurgical procedure that
has emerged as the gold-standard treatment for drug-resistant Parkinson's disease (PD), the second most
common neurodegenerative disorder, which affects more patients than the combined number of people
diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, and Lou Gehrig's disease. DBS is also used to treat
refractory chronic pain, a debilitating condition that affects more than 100 million Americans. Despite the
general effectiveness of DBS, its underlying mechanisms of action are still unclear. Uncertainties remain about
which circuits are affected, which exact fiber bundles need to be targeted, and the most efficacious stimulation
protocol. The meticulous use of neuroimaging, both for target verification and for monitoring treatment-induced
changes in the functional connectivity of affected brain networks is an essential step in interpreting clinical
outcomes, testing new hypotheses and, consequently, designing enhanced therapeutic protocols. In this
regard, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appears excellently poised as a high-resolution, non-invasive
imaging tool, which could help address these open questions. However, the interaction of the radiofrequency
(RF) fields of MRI scanners and the implanted electrodes imposes serious safety hazards that restrict the
applicability of MRI for DBS patients. As a result, available MRI methodologies for DBS patients are limited in
resolution and suffer from severe image artifacts that confound studies of the functional connectivity of affected
brain networks.
This program develops and validates novel MRI methodologies tailored and validated for patient-specific
geometries, which will bring MRI to bear on the clinical questions regarding the mechanism and targeting of
DBS treatment. The specific aims of this project are, therefore: (1) to develop and validate a patient-adjustable,
reconfigurable MRI transmit coil, integrated with a 32-channel close-fit brain array, which enables the reduction
of the unwanted interaction of RF fields and implanted electrodes up to 100-fold below levels produced by
currently available systems, while increasing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) up to four times at the level of
cortical structures; (2) the validation of developed methodologies with comprehensive electromagnetic
simulations and phantom experiments to determine the safe range of imaging parameters and optimize clinical
imaging protocols; and (3) devising methodologies which use the developed technology to enhance prediction
of altered patterns of functional connectivity of the cortico-striatal loops in advanced Parkinson's patients.
The immediate goal of this project is to develop and optimize MRI methodologies to enhance structural and
functional imaging of PD-affected brain networks at field intensities that are FDA approved for DBS imaging
and to apply these methodologies for enh...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10003262
- **Project number:** 5R00EB021320-04
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Laleh Golestani Rad
- **Activity code:** R00 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $243,469
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-17 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10003262

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10003262, Patient-adjustable MRI technology for high-resolution imaging of deep brain stimulation (5R00EB021320-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10003262. Licensed CC0.

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