OxCIN Global Scholars + Methods

Pamela Gonzalez, Xinyu Ye

Wednesday, 27 May 2026, 12pm to 1pm

Seminar room 1 at the Life and Mind Building, OX1 3EL

Hosted by Ludo Griffanti, Michiel Cottaar

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Wings Global Scholars

Multimodal MRI Characterization of Circuit-Level Changes Following MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound of the STN and GPi in Parkinson’s Disease

Presented by Pamela Gonzalez

Abstract: MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) is a minimally invasive neurosurgical technique that uses converging ultrasound beams under real-time MRI guidance to induce precise thermal ablation of deep brain targets. This study investigates Parkinson’s disease patients undergoing MRgFUS targeting the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and globus pallidus internus (GPi), examining whether potential longitudinal changes in motor and associative basal ganglia–cortical circuits can be characterised using multimodal MRI. A pilot study includes treated and control groups assessed at baseline and six-month follow-up, with multimodal MRI used to characterise potential brain changes over time.

WIN Wednesday Methods Series Accelerating diffusion MRI for rapid and robust microstructural imaging

Presented by Xinyu Ye

Abstract: Diffusion MRI (dMRI) enables non-invasive assessment of tissue microstructure and structural connectivity by measuring water diffusion within biological tissue. However, its broader clinical and research applications remain limited by long acquisition times, particularly advanced protocols requiring high angular resolution, multiple diffusion weightings, or multiple echo times.

In this talk, we first introduce conventional approaches for accelerating dMRI, highlighting major acquisition and reconstruction strategies as well as key practical challenges and advice when designing the study protocols .We then present a data-driven joint k-q reconstruction framework based on Gaussian Processes, which exploits correlations across diffusion-weighted volumes to improve reconstruction performance at higher acceleration factors. We also discuss recent extensions of this framework to multi-TE acquisitions, together with its integration with motion and eddy-current distortion correction. These acceleration techniques may facilitate broader adoption of advanced diffusion modelling techniques that require large numbers of dMRI volumes while maintaining feasible scan times.

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