# Reconfigurable MRI technology for safe and high-resolution imaging of deep brain stimulation at 3T

> **NIH NIH R01** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $487,557

## Abstract

Project Summary
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a neurosurgical procedure that involves implanting electrodes into specific areas
within the brain and delivering constant or intermittent electric pulses from an implanted pulse generator (IPG)
to modulate neural function. DBS is the gold standard treatment for Parkinson’s disease, and has shown promise
in treating other disorders, most notably chronic pain, epilepsy, major depression, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is extremely useful in patients with DBS implants, as it can provide
information on precise location of implanted electrodes and functional response to stimulation. Unfortunately,
the interaction of radiofrequency (RF) fields generated by MRI scanners with the leads of DBS devices can
trigger potentially fatal RF heating within the tissue. This means that current MRI technology is inaccessible to
most patients with DBS implants, presenting a significant barrier to progress in the field of DBS therapeutics.
This project seeks to develop novel MRI methodologies alongside DBS implantation techniques that together
will make cutting-edge MRI technology fully compatible with implanted DBS devices. Here, this two-pronged
approach takes the form of (1) building on our recently introduced concept of reconfigurable MRI technology;
and (2) establishing surgical guidelines specific to DBS device implantation.
Reconfigurable MRI technology is based on the idea that through innovative engineering we can control local
electric fields generated by MR on a patient-by-patient basis, thus avoiding interactions with an implanted device,
wherever it happens to be. Part and parcel with engineering-based solutions, we recognize the importance of
DBS device lead placement in optimizing the success of the reconfigurable MRI approach. Although RF heating
depends exquisitely on lead-trajectory, surgical guidelines are completely silent as to how to best place the
extracranial portion of the leads. This in turn leads to arbitrary (and highly variable) lead positioning, which can
make RF heating unpredictable even when using reconfigurable technology. Thus, we propose work to develop
and validate novel MR technology (Aim 1), intra-surgical implantation strategies (Aim 2), and simulation-based,
patient-specific approaches to defining safe imaging parameters (Aim 3). Together, these efforts will eliminate
RF heating, reduce image artifact, and support the use of next generation MRI in patients with DBS implants.
Our team includes experts in MRI hardware development and instrumentation, MRI computational modeling and
safety assessment, FDA regulatory scientists, DBS clinical management and neurosurgery, as well as
collaborators from DBS device industry. If successful, we will bring state-of-the-art 3T MRI to DBS patients in
its full capacity. This will allow for methodical analysis of DBS parameters/targets in emerging applications,
improve our understanding of DBS in existing indications, a...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10445316
- **Project number:** 5R01EB030324-02
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Laleh Golestani Rad
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $487,557
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-07-15 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10445316

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10445316, Reconfigurable MRI technology for safe and high-resolution imaging of deep brain stimulation at 3T (5R01EB030324-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10445316. Licensed CC0.

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