Ultra-sensitive 3D molecular assays using total body PET and deep learning. Recent advances in biomedical engineering have led to the development of Total Body Positron Emission Tomography (TB-PET), the most sensitive imaging device to date. Despite these impressive engineering advances, computational methods lag far behind and model-based approaches cannot deal with the complexity or volume of data these systems produce. We will develop new computational methods based on deep learning and stati ....Ultra-sensitive 3D molecular assays using total body PET and deep learning. Recent advances in biomedical engineering have led to the development of Total Body Positron Emission Tomography (TB-PET), the most sensitive imaging device to date. Despite these impressive engineering advances, computational methods lag far behind and model-based approaches cannot deal with the complexity or volume of data these systems produce. We will develop new computational methods based on deep learning and statistical methods that fully exploit the richness and complexity of the data generated by TB-PET, enabling 3D quantitative assays of molecular processes throughout the entire human body with unparalleled sensitivity. The technology we create will open up new capability for the study of complex physiological systems.Read moreRead less
Novel tractography-guided MRI methods for studying healthy brain ageing. Advances in imaging, and particularly Magnetic Resonance Imaging, have opened a new era in the study of the brain enabling a myriad of neuroscience discoveries. This project aims to develop new analysis methods to study and understand the variability in the human brain during ageing, exploiting the wealth of information contained in the so-called tractogram, a mapping of the brain’s wiring. This project expects to develop i ....Novel tractography-guided MRI methods for studying healthy brain ageing. Advances in imaging, and particularly Magnetic Resonance Imaging, have opened a new era in the study of the brain enabling a myriad of neuroscience discoveries. This project aims to develop new analysis methods to study and understand the variability in the human brain during ageing, exploiting the wealth of information contained in the so-called tractogram, a mapping of the brain’s wiring. This project expects to develop innovative imaging biomarkers to characterise the brain changes in the course of healthy brain ageing. Expected outcomes include novel imaging tools for neuroscience, which should allow us to map trajectories of normative healthy brain ageing and use them to identify lifestyle factors that impact these trajectories.Read moreRead less
Development of new methods to measure in vivo properties of human body tissues. This project will develop new methods of noninvasively measuring the viscoelastic properties of soft tissues in live humans, using a novel magnetic resonance elastography technique. These methods will be applied to study the operation of the human muscle-tendon system, differences in neck muscle properties with age and gender and to measure the properties of the human brain, kidney and liver in vivo. These techniques ....Development of new methods to measure in vivo properties of human body tissues. This project will develop new methods of noninvasively measuring the viscoelastic properties of soft tissues in live humans, using a novel magnetic resonance elastography technique. These methods will be applied to study the operation of the human muscle-tendon system, differences in neck muscle properties with age and gender and to measure the properties of the human brain, kidney and liver in vivo. These techniques may be useful in diagnosing soft tissue disease or injury which are currently difficult to detect using standard imaging techniques. It will also explain how the muscle-tendon unit moves during normal motion in live humans.Read moreRead less
Creating a non-invasive window into the mind. This project aims to create better tools to study the human mind. This project expects to generate new knowledge that can be used to non-invasively image neuronal activity. Expected outcomes include the development of unique new Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) instruments to study neuronal activity in both highly controlled laboratory conditions and in humans, with the spatial and temporal resolution needed to study the neuronal circuitry that drive ....Creating a non-invasive window into the mind. This project aims to create better tools to study the human mind. This project expects to generate new knowledge that can be used to non-invasively image neuronal activity. Expected outcomes include the development of unique new Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) instruments to study neuronal activity in both highly controlled laboratory conditions and in humans, with the spatial and temporal resolution needed to study the neuronal circuitry that drives low and high-level brain functions, i.e., creating a window into the mind. In the future, outcomes from this study could improve our understanding of mental disorders, advance computer brain interface technology, and inspire the next paradigm shift in artificial intelligence.Read moreRead less
Novel methods for detecting changes in soft tissue microstructure and biomechanical properties using multi-modality MR imaging. This project will lead to novel methods for studying the internal structure of the soft tissues of the body, such as muscles and brain tissue, and how this is affected by mechanical loading and disease states. The project will thoroughly validate these new methods. This will not only provide new techniques for research use, but lead to improved diagnostic techniques in ....Novel methods for detecting changes in soft tissue microstructure and biomechanical properties using multi-modality MR imaging. This project will lead to novel methods for studying the internal structure of the soft tissues of the body, such as muscles and brain tissue, and how this is affected by mechanical loading and disease states. The project will thoroughly validate these new methods. This will not only provide new techniques for research use, but lead to improved diagnostic techniques in the future.Read moreRead less
Quantifying cortical thickness and white matter hyperintensity volumes and determining their relationship on Magnetic Resonance Imaging in ageing brains. Australia's population is ageing, with a significant projected increase in the number of people aged over 65 and 85. Mental health and quality of life for this ageing population have become an increasingly important issue. This project directly addresses the National Research Priority 2 in the terms of ageing well, ageing productively. Accurat ....Quantifying cortical thickness and white matter hyperintensity volumes and determining their relationship on Magnetic Resonance Imaging in ageing brains. Australia's population is ageing, with a significant projected increase in the number of people aged over 65 and 85. Mental health and quality of life for this ageing population have become an increasingly important issue. This project directly addresses the National Research Priority 2 in the terms of ageing well, ageing productively. Accurately measuring the distribution of brain structural changes is an effective way of differentiating normal ageing from various pathological conditions reflecting the underlying pathology. The project has access to an unprecedented large sample of longitudinal Magnetic Resonance Imaging and health/clinical data and will produce a set of algorithms to examine this issue and put Australia at the forefront of such research.Read moreRead less
Novel imaging technologies for continuous measurement of tracer kinetics in awake animals. The fates of biologically relevant molecules, such as proteins and antibodies, in the body are fundamentally important for understanding the mechanisms and treatment of disease. This project will enable for the first time continuous imaging of the location and time course of labelled molecules in conscious, freely moving animals.
Motion-adaptive PET technology for brain imaging of freely moving mice. This project aims to develop new brain imaging technology that adapts to and corrects for the motion of a responsive, freely moving mouse. Current technology requires the subject to be unconscious, precluding the use of imaging to study signalling pathways activated by external stimuli during cognitive and behavioural tasks. By harnessing new radiation detector, motion tracking and computational technologies, the project exp ....Motion-adaptive PET technology for brain imaging of freely moving mice. This project aims to develop new brain imaging technology that adapts to and corrects for the motion of a responsive, freely moving mouse. Current technology requires the subject to be unconscious, precluding the use of imaging to study signalling pathways activated by external stimuli during cognitive and behavioural tasks. By harnessing new radiation detector, motion tracking and computational technologies, the project expects to bridge this technology gap and provide significant technical and conceptual advances in the field. This will provide important benefits, such as equipping neuroscientists with new tools to answer fundamental questions about how the mammalian brain regulates behavioural adaptation to a changing environment.Read moreRead less
Next generation positron imaging technologies for contemporaneous measurements of brain function and behaviour in freely moving mice. The mouse brain is an important target for Post Emission Tomography (PET) imaging studies that aim to elucidate the role of specific molecular pathways in determining normal and aberrant brain function. However, current imaging technology requires the animal to be unconscious which precludes the study of pathways involved in cognition, learning and behaviour. To o ....Next generation positron imaging technologies for contemporaneous measurements of brain function and behaviour in freely moving mice. The mouse brain is an important target for Post Emission Tomography (PET) imaging studies that aim to elucidate the role of specific molecular pathways in determining normal and aberrant brain function. However, current imaging technology requires the animal to be unconscious which precludes the study of pathways involved in cognition, learning and behaviour. To overcome this major limitation this project will: investigate tomograph designs capable of continuously imaging a moving animal; develop a PET detector with sub-millimetre spatial resolution and depth-of-interaction capability; and, develop a fully integrated motion tracking system. This research will lead to next generation PET technologies for contemporaneous brain imaging and behavioural analysis in freely moving mice.Read moreRead less
Complete blood fractionation using a low-cost microfluidic system. This project aims to understand particle focusing in inertial microfluidic systems to design efficient devices for cell sorting. The field of microfluidics could ultimately advance medical research but device design is primitive. Microfluidic particle separations are not thoroughly simulated before fabrication to predict performance. This project is expected to accelerate progress in design of efficient microfluidic devices. The ....Complete blood fractionation using a low-cost microfluidic system. This project aims to understand particle focusing in inertial microfluidic systems to design efficient devices for cell sorting. The field of microfluidics could ultimately advance medical research but device design is primitive. Microfluidic particle separations are not thoroughly simulated before fabrication to predict performance. This project is expected to accelerate progress in design of efficient microfluidic devices. The knowledge and models developed in this project should help design and develop a microfluidic device for efficient fractionation of complex fluids into valuable components.Read moreRead less