# Cloud MR: an Open-Source Software Framework to Democratize MRI Training and Research

> **NIH NIH R01** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2024 · $638,047

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Cloud MR: an open-source software framework to democratize MRI training and research
This project is a competing continuation of our project entitled Novel Software Tools for Rational Design and
Assessment of MR Coils, which yielded seminal advances in understanding radiofrequency coil performance at
high and ultra-high field. It also delivered novel computational tools for rapid coil simulation using Integral
Equation techniques, and introduced the ultimate intrinsic transmit efficiency as an absolute metric for transmit
coil performance. Our continuing project will integrate these advances into the development of Cloud MR, a
comprehensive framework to simulate all aspects of the MRI experiment. By means of an intuitive web-based
user interface, Cloud MR will allow the development of RF coils, pulse sequences and image reconstruction
methods within an interconnected simulation environment that will enable users to optimize them jointly or
individually. We will introduce the first web-based tool for modeling and simulation of flexible RF coils, as well as
an innovative tool for pulse sequence development based on a Sequence Description Language. We will train a
convolutional neural network for the removal of Gibbs artifacts using synthetic brain images generated with Cloud
MR. The overall goal is to provide to anyone with an internet connection a powerful, innovative, comprehensive
open-source tool for MRI research and training. By providing a virtual simulation environment to test new
technology and optimize clinical protocols without operating an actual MR scanner, Cloud MR will reduce the
carbon footprint of MRI. Cloud MR will also allow to generate realistic synthetic MR datasets to train neural
networks, without the need to access actual patients’ data. We will distribute all software freely and fully
documented, including tutorials and examples that could be used to demonstrate physics and engineering
concepts in undergraduate and graduate courses.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10758564
- **Project number:** 5R01EB024536-06
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Riccardo Lattanzi
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $638,047
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-07-01 → 2026-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10758564

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10758564, Cloud MR: an Open-Source Software Framework to Democratize MRI Training and Research (5R01EB024536-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10758564. Licensed CC0.

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