# Comprehensive MR Fingerprinting for Infants and Young Children at Risk for Developmental Delays.

> **NIH NIH R01** · CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $566,323

## Abstract

Abstract
 Neuroimaging of infants and young children is increasingly used to monitor brain development that can
ultimately influence long-term health and behavioral outcomes. Our research team is one of four centers
participating in the Outcomes of Babies with Opioid Exposure (OBOE) study, a national effort to assess the
effects of antenatal opioid exposure on baby development. These babies have neonatal opioid withdrawal
symptoms at birth and struggle to maintain sleep or stillness during the MR scan. This patient population, and
other pediatric patients in general, stress significant unmet needs for motion robust and quantitative imaging
techniques for baby developmental assessment. However, there are unique challenges to imaging non-sedated
babies using MRI, including high failure rate (no usable MRI data) due to motion, lack of quantitative and sensitive
image markers for developmental assessment, and lack of imaging analysis tools specific for fast-evolving baby
brains. In this proposal, we have established a multi-PI team, including MR Fingerprinting imaging developers
(CWRU), baby imaging analysis and AI experts (UNC) and high-risk neonate clinical experts (UH) to address
the unmet needs for baby imaging, and use the imaging tools to assess developmental delays of the opioid-
exposed babies. We will achieve our goal with the following aims: Aim 1: Develop a motion-robust and
comprehensive MRF scan to provide multiple quantitative tissue property maps for non-sedated babies; Aim 2:
Develop baby-centric image processing tools and derive quantitative image features to characterize whole brain
tissue changes; and Aim 3: Quantitatively assess developmental changes in opioid-exposed babies and predict
the risk of developmental delays. This project will provide an imaging tool to relate quantitative features in brain
structure and development to neurologic functions, opening the opportunity for early targeted interventions aimed
at improving outcomes. The high quality, fast and motion robust MRF scans will have a broad impact for pediatric
patients on improving scan success rate and reducing the sedation rate. The quantitative and comprehensive
MRF scans will also have great potentials in assessing longitudinal changes regarding development alternations
and therapeutic response.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10881196
- **Project number:** 1R01HD112923-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Dan Ma
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $566,323
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-16 → 2024-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10881196

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10881196, Comprehensive MR Fingerprinting for Infants and Young Children at Risk for Developmental Delays. (1R01HD112923-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10881196. Licensed CC0.

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