Promotor: Uwe Himmelreich
Description: The aim of this project is the development of a rapid, non-invasive method for the diagnosis of neurological infectious diseases, which are still a major problem in tropical and developing countries. The project is a combined initiative between the Biomedical NMR unit (U. Himmelreich, Biomedical Sciences Group) and the Department of electrical engineering (S. Van Huffel, Science, Engineering and Technology Group). Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Spectroscopy (MRS) data will be acquired from experimental models of brain infections and from patients. Automated processing and evaluation methods will be developed for a rapid and robust classification (diagnosis) of brain infections according to microbial etiology.
Infectious diseases are one of the leading health problems in developing countries in tropical and subtropical regions. Delays in diagnosis and initiation of appropriate therapy are major contributors to unacceptably high morbidity and mortality from brain abscesses. Current diagnostic methods are invasive and microbial identification may take several hours to days. Current radiological imaging procedures (like MRI) have increased the ability to detect brain lesions, but they do not provide a pathological diagnosis. Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) detects chemical signatures in living cells and we and others have found that when applied to patients undergoing MRI scans, MRS can distinguish readily between abscesses and tumors. There is preliminary evidence that MRS also distinguishes between abscesses due to different pathogens and between active and treated infections, which will have huge implications on therapy.
In the PhD project, experimental models for brain abscesses due to different microorganisms (gram-positive and –negative bacteria, fungi etc.) will be developed, progress and therapy of the infection will be monitored non-invasively by MRI/ MRS. In addition, clinical data from our institution but also from collaborators in India (Sanjay Ghandi Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow) and Australia (Sydney University) will be used for translational studies, comparing metabolic pattern in experimental and clinical abscesses. For the data analysis and development of diagnostic strategies, different automated feature selection techniques, automated pattern recognition methods and algorithms to combine MRI and MRS data (nosologic images) will be further developed for the application in infectious diseases.
This program will generate a method for non-invasive, etiological diagnosis of brain abscesses by in vivo neurospectroscopy. This will potentially result in improved patient management of neurological infections in particular in developing countries.
Programme: Molecular and Stem Cell Medicine
Start date: 2010-10-01
Application date: 2009-12-01
Publication date: 2009-10-01
Financing: IRO
Link: http://www.saic.be and http://www.kuleuven.be/cv/u0013262e.htm
Research group: Department of Medical Diagnostic Sciences
Remarks: The project will focus on the development of automated methods to diagnose infective brain abscesses. Brain abscesses are not very common in developed countries but are a leading health problem in developing countries in tropical and subtropical regions. One bottleneck for their rapid diagnosis by using non-invasive imaging methods like MRI/ MRS (which are available in developing countries) is the lack of data that would allow the non-invasive identification of the infection causing microorganisms. By combining the efforts in the Biomedical NMR Unit on MRI/ MRS data acquisition in experimental models of brain infections with clinical data from collaborators in India (Ghandi Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow) and the expertise at ESAT on MRI/ MRS data analysis/ classification, we believe that we can make significant contributions to develop a non-invasive diagnostic tool from that patients in the developing world will directly benefit. By choosing a potential candidate from a developing country, transfer of knowledge can be accelerated.
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