자기공명영상 연구실

Broad research interests of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) laboratory at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) lie in (i) developing new MRI techniques of image acquisition, processing, and analysis, (ii) revealing brain waste clearance pathway and mechanism through neurofluid MRI, (iii) applying deep learning algorithms to MRI acceleration, image analysis and synthesis, and clinical diagnosis. These technical developments can make big differences in understanding baseline and functional brain physiology, and also diagnosis / prognosis / treatment of our body. Dementia research has traditionally focused on toxic proteins such as beta-amyloid and tau, yet the exact mechanisms through which the brain expels these toxic waste materials remain unclear. While for centuries it was believed that the brain lacked lymphatic vessels, the discovery of meningeal lymphatic vessels in the brain, revealed in a 2015 Nature paper, has sparked global interest and activation of research into brain waste clearance. Although it is generally anticipated that brain waste is transported from the brain's interior lymphatic system to cerebrospinal fluid and then expelled through meningeal lymphatic vessels, several models exist to explain this process. However, challenges persist in accurately describing the mechanism due to numerous inconsistencies in experimental data and flow dynamics perspectives. One of the difficulties in studying brain waste clearance is the slow flow of the associated lymphatic system, cerebrospinal fluid, and lymphatic system, making visualization challenging. Additionally, quantifying flow or pulsatility to understand the waste clearance function is an even more challenging task. Specifically, direct contrast agent injection through cerebrospinal