# Topological Atlas and Repository for Acupoint research (TARA)

> **NIH NIH U24** · SPAULDING REHABILITATION HOSPITAL · 2024 · $146,706

## Abstract

This supplement request will take advantage of the ongoing effort to place MR-opaque fiducial markers over
acupoints, as part of human anatomical MRI data collection for the TARA platform. We will add to this protocol
new imaging data collection for fascia localization. Specifically, deep to the skin surface under the placed MR-
SPOT markers, acupoints may prove to be located within networks of fascia. Fascia is manifest throughout the
human body, but our understanding of the fascial relationship to acupoints is limited, and most of our general
knowledge about this tissue thus far comes from cadaver dissection and animal studies. Direct imaging of fascia
alongside MR-SPOT imaging would represent an exciting opportunity to image fascia directly and link it into this
study. To date, MRI exploration of fascia anatomy in vivo has been limited by the thin structure of this tissue and
its very short T2* times. Recent work has shown that dual echo Ultrashort TE (UTE) MRI overcomes the
limitations of conventional MRI, namely by acquiring images at echo times suitably short to acquire signal from
the collagenous fascia tissues, and by subtracting conventional TE images from the UTE images to maximize
contrast. We will use such data to build biomechanical models to better resolve fascia thickness, relative to
acupoints, in healthy adults. In this supplement, we propose to support protocol development and optimization
of MRI approaches for imaging human fascia in vivo. There will be two aims associated with this supplement: 1)
develop and tune an MRI protocol at the Martinos Center, using our 3T scanner for imaging limb fascia. 2) Recruit
and image one participant with this protocol, with several MR-SPOT markers placed at acupoints. These data
can then be evaluated for potential usage in informing the 3D fascia models being developed at the Auckland
Bioengineering Institute as part of the TARA project. The generation of a digital atlas of acupoints in humans is
the main aim of the TARA project, and these acupoints, below the skin markers, may be embedded within the
continuous and interconnected fascia system. This supplement proposes to integrate UTE MRI, targeting fascia
imaging, into the TARA platform, which will serve to inform our development of the first digital anatomical atlas
of fascia and acupoints.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11163795
- **Project number:** 3U24AT012560-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** SPAULDING REHABILITATION HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** RICHARD E HARRIS
- **Activity code:** U24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $146,706
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2023-05-19 → 2025-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11163795

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11163795, Topological Atlas and Repository for Acupoint research (TARA) (3U24AT012560-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11163795. Licensed CC0.

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