Metabolic magnetic resonance imaging across the human heart

Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. We need to understand what happens in the body as the disease progresses, so we can develop better ways to treat it. Phosphorus spectroscopy scans can be used to monitor the molecules that deliver energy to cells inside our hearts. The most powerful 7T MRI scanners give much higher signal levels than the MRI scanners used in hospitals and we can get the same quality results eight times faster.

I will develop new bespoke hardware and software to further improve phosphorus spectroscopy scans. I will be able to compare metabolism between specific patients not just groups of patients and I will also be able to record images of the metabolism across the whole heart.

This development will help future researchers who are studying the heart and heart disease.