CIBM Annual Symposium 2023
The CIBM Annual Symposium will gather members of the biomedical imaging community in Switzerland and beyond allowing them to exchange during an exciting and intellectually stimulating day filled with insightful talks and poster presentations.
The CIBM annual symposium will be concluded with the inauguration of the new Low Field MRI scanner at CHUV in Lausanne. A visit is organised as well at the end of the day.
There are two different tickets, you can choose one or two depending on your attendance:
- 9:00am – 9:00pm: Scientific programme + Inauguration of the Low Field MRI scanner
- From 6:00pm : Visit tour of the new Low Field MRI scanner
PROGRAMME
9:00 CIBM overview and 2023 achievements
CIBM
9:10 Neural dynamics of the primate attention network
ABSTRACT
The selection of information from our cluttered sensory environments, often referred to as ‘attention’, is one of the most fundamental cognitive operations performed by the primate brain. In the visual domain, the selection process is thought to be mediated by a spatial mechanism – a ‘spotlight’ that can be flexibly shifted around the visual scene. In my lecture, I will provide an overview on its neural basis by discussing neuroimaging and intracranial electrophysiology studies in the human and monkey brain. Neuroimaging studies have shown that the spatial selection mechanism engages a large-scale network that consists of multiple nodes distributed across all major cortical lobes and includes also subcortical regions in the midbrain and thalamus. Electrophysiology studies have provided a rich understanding of the specific functions of each network node and their functional interactions. Key findings reveal that (i) the cortical network is coordinated by a thalamic timekeeper in the pulvinar and (ii) processing in the sensory cortex is modulated by feedback signals from a fronto-parietal control network. The fronto-parieto-pulvinar network is characterized by complex temporal dynamics that set up alternating attentional states, which emphasize either environmental sampling of information or shifting of spatial selection to a new location and can be measured as behavioral rhythms. Collectively, these studies in the adult brain set the stage for translational applications such as exploring the typical and atypical development of attention function and its deficits in neurological and psychiatric diseases.
Princeton University
BIO
Sabine Kastner is a Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at Princeton University and serves as the Scientific Director of Princeton’s neuroimaging facility. Kastner is the Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Neuroscience and the Director of a Silvio O. Conte Center on Basic Research. Her research focuses on the neural basis of visual perception, attention, and awareness in the healthy, adult primate brain, in patients with brain lesions and during development with >150 publications. Kastner earned an MD degree from the University of Dusseldorf and a PhD degree in neurophysiology from the University of Gottingen. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the American Psychological Society, the Society for Experimental Psychology and a Member of the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina). Kastner is passionate about public outreach such as fostering the careers of young women in science, promoting neuroscience in schools and public education and exploring the intersection of visual neuroscience and art.
9:40 Brain network dynamics captured by electrical neuroimaging
ABSTRACT
Brain states at rest can be defined in two fundamentally different time scales: slowly fluctuating coherent large-scale networks, as observed with functional MRI, and fast switching spatial patterns of global neural activity in sub-second time scale, observable with EEG. EEG studies focusing on the spatial pattern of the global scalp electric field have shown that these fields remain stable for time periods of about 100 ms and then rapidly switch to a new configuration within which they remain stable again. It is hypothesized that these short-lasting states (so-called microstates) represent subsequent time periods during which cooperating brain areas of large-scale networks are activated in a coordinated fashion. Each of these states represents a microstate of cognition so that cognitive processing evolves through a succession of such states. Consequently, changes in mental states by altered levels of consciousness or mental diseases are characterized by changes of the temporal dynamics of the EEG microstates. EEG Microstate analysis has become a standard in the EEG research community, with an exponential increase in publications in all areas of cognitive and clinical neuroscience. This presentation will give an overview of the analytical approach and a summary of the current state of knowledge concerning the functional significance of EEG microstates.
UNIGE
BIO
Graduated in Biology at the ETH Zurich. Full Professor for Neuroscience of the Medical Faculty of the University of Geneva and Head of the CIBM Center for Biomedical Imaging EEG HUG-UNIGE section. Past-President of the Swiss Society for Neuroscience. Editor-in-Chief of Brain Topography. His principle research focus is the organization and dynamics of the large-scale neuronal networks of the brain that underlie mental functions, and the understanding of the disturbances of these networks in patients with brain dysfunctions. High density EEG in humans and animal models is his principal research tool.
10:00 Coffee Break: Posters and Demos (CIBM Research Staff Scientists + PhD students + Collaborators + Exhibitors)
11:00 Brain plasticity and wiring in mouse models of autism
ABSTRACT
Individuals carrying the 15q11.2 microdeletions or microduplications, encompassing the CYFIP1 gene, often manifest a spectrum of symptoms, including neurobehavioral disturbances, motor deficits and impaired behaviors. Despite this clinical diversity, the intricate molecular underpinnings of this genetic condition remain elusive. Within the brain, CYFIP1 plays a pivotal role in coordinating at least two crucial molecular processes: actin remodeling and mRNA metabolism. I will discuss the consequences of CYFIP1 haploinsufficiency on functional brain connectivity, wiring, and resultant behavioral outcomes. Furthermore, I will present the molecular and cellular mechanisms that possibly contribute to some of the deficits observed in individuals with CYFIP1-related genetic variations. This study promises to enhance our understanding of the complex interplay between genetics, neurobiology, and behavior in the context of CYFIP1-related disorders.
UNIL
BIO
Prof. Bagni, with a Ph.D. from the University of Rome Tor Vergata (IT), conducted postdoctoral training at the CNRS (Toulouse, FR), Harvard University (Cambridge, USA), and EMBL (Heidelberg, DE). She established her first lab at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, later moving to KU Leuven – VIB (BE), and in 2016, became Director of the Department of Fundamental Neurosciences at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). In 2021, she assumed the role of Vice-Dean for Research and Innovation, Faculty of Biology and Medicine (UNIL). She co-authored >130 publications and received prestigious awards, including being elected an EMBO member, receiving the UCB and Solvay Awards, and the Nestle Research & Development Women in Science Award. Recently, she was honored as a Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. Professor Bagni's lab is committed to investigating the underlying mechanisms of Fragile X Syndrome and autism spectrum disorders.
11:20 The power of nuclear imaging in oncology
ABSTRACT
Nuclear imaging using dedicated targeted radiopharmaceuticals allows to non-invasively and longitudinally visualize and quantify biological processes in vivo without interfering with them. This provides systemic and real-time information on cancer biology and heterogeneity with high sensitivity, making nuclear medicine imaging indispensable pillar in clinical decision-making, both pre- and post-therapeutically. Additionally, targeted radiopharmaceuticals labeled with therapeutic radionuclides have shown excellent therapeutic efficacy in several cancer entities. Targeted “theranostic” concepts have thus evolved as a powerful complementary and intrinsically personalized approach to classical cancer therapies. Ongoing preclinical research aims at reinforcing this axis by exploiting novel molecular targets for theranostic targeting and by extending the idea of theranostics towards radio- and fluorescence guided surgery. Additionally, a continuous flow of novel diagnostic agents allows us to better and better characterize the tumor and the tumor microenvironment and thus improve and tailor therapies.
CHUV-UNIL
BIO
Prof. Schottelius began her academic journey at the University of Konstanz, Germany, and the University of Rutgers, USA, before obtaining her master’s degree in chemistry from ETH Zurich. In 2002, she completed her PhD in adiopharmaceutical Chemistry at TU Munich, supervised by Prof. Dr. Hans-J. Wester. After a post-doctoral fellowship, she obtained her habilitation in 2009, followed by the nomination as titular professor at TUM in 2017. Since 2019, she is an Associate Professor for Radiopharmaceutical Sciences at the CHUV/UNIL/LICR in Lausanne and leads the Translational Radiopharmaceutical Sciences lab at Agora.
11:40 Zoom into metabolism through novel multimodal approaches: applications in hepatic encephalopathy
ABSTRACT
Type C hepatic encephalopathy (type C HE) is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder associated with chronic liver disease (CLD) in both children and adults. For children with CLD the impairment of neurocognitive functions is described before liver transplantation and appears not to be reversible after the transplant indicating that the developing central nervous system could be more vulnerable to disease. Very little is known about the effects of CLD on the developing brain. How different brain regions respond to the metabolic stress of CLD is not understood, and the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms are largely unknown. The identification of different brain metabolites and mechanisms involved in type C HE which could be targeted would represent a major advance in therapy.
This talk will highlight how novel multimodal approached and cutting-edge technologies available at CIBM MRI EPFL offer a compelling alternative to study different aspects of brain metabolism and structure in type C HE in the adult and developing brain. In particular we will explore the advantages of ultra-high magnetic fields for mapping brain metabolism via magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), and the pivotal role of multimodal approaches combining MRS, MRI, 18F-FDG positron emission tomography (PET), and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR) to filling the current gap in our understanding of type C HE.
EPFL
BIO
Dr Cristina Cudalbu started her academic journey in 2003 at the University of Lyon 1, France where she obtained her PhD in 2006. Till 2012 she was a postdoctoral researcher in the Laboratory for Functional and Metabolic Imaging at EPFL. Then she joined the CIBM Center for Biomedical Imaging MRI EPFL Animal Imaging and Technology Section as a research staff scientist and 9.4T MRI Operational Manager. In 2021, Cristina Cudalbu was promoted to Research and Teaching Associate in the Faculty of Basic Sciences at EPFL and is leading the MRS4Brain Group. Over the last decade, Cristina Cudalbu has been developing new research lines at CIBM which are oriented towards new acquisition and quantification techniques for in vivo proton, phosphorous, carbon, nitrogen MRS and fast MRSI, diffusion weighted spectroscopy and brain macromolecules quantification. She is now applying these She is now applying these developments on chronic hepatic encephalopathy, a research area that she also developed at CIBM.
12:00 Tissue regeneration for reconstructive surgery: the journey of an innovation from the lab to clinical use
ABSTRACT
Volumina Medical, a spin-off from EPFL, is a medtech company that develops innovative injectable implants for plastic and reconstructive surgery.
The company is now at the clinical stage of development for its first product.
The products developed by Volumina Medical, through their ability to regenerate soft tissue volumes, will address the unmet need of millions of patients per year who require the improvement and/or reconstruction of tissues, including breast tissue after cancer.
During this talk I will present the journey of this new innovative technology, from the academic lab through to the clinical use of the product, highlighting the importance of scientific and technological collaboration with, for example, academic entities such as the CIBM.
Volumina Medical
BIO
Amélie Béduer is an accomplished scientist turned entrepreneur who, together with her co-founders, discovered and developed a ground-breaking innovation that has the potential to offer a significant improvement in the lives of millions of patients worldwide.
She is an engineer in physics by training and also holds a PhD in physics. After completing her academic training in France, she moved to Lausanne for a post-doctoral fellowship at EPFL.
She has been the CEO of Volumina Medical since its creation in 2018. The Company is based in Epalinges, Biopole and was selected as TOP2 Medtech start-up in Switzerland in 2023 and has won numerous awards and grants. The team has since grown to 10 talented individuals spanning multiple disciplines, including chemistry, biology, engineering, clinical, regulatory and quality, all working with passion and commitment to improve the quality of life of millions of patients.
12:30 Lunch Break: Posters and Demos (CIBM Research Staff Scientists + PhD students + Collaborators + Exhibitors)
14:00 Responsible machine learning in medical image analysis: ensuring image quality and trustworthy predictions
ABSTRACT
Machine learning (ML) has a remarkable ability to solve many key tasks in medical image analysis from restoration, reconstruction, segmentation to image synthesis or classification. While DL results reported so far are impressive, serious reservations have been raised regarding their robustness to domain shifts and to which extent we can trust their output. I will first overview the different aspects of “responsible” ML which aims at reinforcing the trustworthy behavior of models, a key need in the adoption of deep learning for healthcare applications. I will briefly present the CIBM SP UNIL-CHUV contributions in that context with focus on the tasks of automated quality control and uncertainty estimation in neuroimage analysis.
UNIL
BIO
Meritxell Bach Cuadra received the MSc in Electrical Engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in 1998, the PhD degree from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in 2003. She then joined the CIBM Center for Biomedical Imaging in 2005 as research staff scientist in the Signal Processing Core at the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and was a lecturer at the School of Biology and Medicine of the University of Lausanne (UNIL). In March 2011 she became a Senior Lecturer & has been a Privat Docent since 2018 where she teaches and leads research activities in the Medical Image Analysis Laboratory (MIAL) , UNIL hosted at the CHUV Radiology Department.
Since 2020 Meritxell Bach Cuadra is head of the CIBM Signal Processing CHUV-UNIL Computational Neuroanatomy & Fetal Imaging Section.
14:20 Exploring medication-free alternatives for children: A journey through multimodal imaging and virtual reality
ABSTRACT
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prevalent disorders within the field of child psychiatry, impacting over 5% of individuals. Subthreshold ADHD is common in the population, with an estimated prevalence of approximately 10-15%. Attentional difficulties can significantly affect every aspect of a child's life, not only hindering academic achievements but also diminishing overall quality of life.
While medication, especially psychostimulants, plays a central role in ADHD treatment, it's noteworthy that up to 30% of children with ADHD do not respond favourably to stimulants or face challenges in tolerating potential adverse effects.
This presentation will demonstrate how multimodal imaging and cutting-edge technologies offer a compelling alternative to medication for these children. In particular, we will explore the intriguing potential of combining EEG-Neurofeedback with Virtual Reality to enhance children's motivation and build efficient and personalized interventions. Multimodal imaging, featuring simultaneous EEG and functional MRI, plays a pivotal role in better understanding the impact of these interventions on children's brains.
In summary, this talk will showcase the pivotal role of Virtual Reality and Multimodal Imaging in offering non-pharmaceutical solutions for children with ADHD, addressing their unique challenges, including high levels of activity.
Frédéric Grouiller
HUG-UNIGE
BIO
Frédéric Grouiller is an MRI physicist at Geneva University Hospital, where he leads the CIBM's MRI HUG-UNIGE Clinical MRI Imaging Section. His primary research focus is on clinical and multimodal imaging, with the aim of improving the detection and treatment of various pathologies, particularly in pediatric populations. He obtained his PhD in Signal and Imaging in Medicine and Biomedicine from the Grenoble Institute of Neurosciences, where he developed strong expertise in integrating EEG and fMRI for presurgical mapping in epilepsy patients.
14:40 Ultra-high field MRI in neuroradiology: how, when and why ?
ABSTRACT
This presentation aims to show the main clinical applications in the field of neuroradiology as well as the principal challenges associated with using ultrahigh field (UHF) scanners in the clinical setting and present available solutions to circumvent these limitations.
The differences between UHF scanners and those used in daily clinical practice, a review of the different morphological and advanced sequences ready to be applied to routine clinical practice, and the principal advantages and disadvantages will be illustrated with clinical cases.
Finally, a vision of the future will be given concerning clinical indications and techniques
HUG – Clinique de Grangettes
BIO
Prof. Maria Isabel Vargas has expertise in radiology and neuroradiology. Currently the Head of the Diagnostic Unit of the Neuroradiology Division at the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG), her career interest will shift, from November 2023 to Clinique de Grangettes.
Her research contributions are focused on the applications and the optimization of advanced imaging techniques. In recent years, her work focused particularly on sequence optimization and clinical applications of MRI at ultra-high field. Using techniques at this field strength, her research helped improve the detection of lesions in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, achieved the pre-clinical quantification of hemodynamic parameters in intracranial aneurysms, and contributed to the imaging of peripheral nerves. Another facet of her research consists in decreasing the use of gadolinium in MRI for various applications, including for patients with tumors, through sequence optimization and image post-processing techniques.
She is the author of more than 220 articles and co-author of a book and 18 book chapters
15:00 Auditory regularity encoding in human wakefulness, sleep and coma
ABSTRACT
Rudimentary sensory stimulus processing is preserved in altered states of consciousness, including sleep and coma. In particular, comatose patients at early latencies after cardiac arrest and healthy subjects across vigilance states can encode auditory statistical regularities. In addition, the human brain continuously receives inputs from the body, representing another source of sensory input that may interact with auditory processing. Here we investigate the role of cardiac signals in shaping auditory regularity encoding in healthy participants during sleep and wakefulness and in patients during the first day of coma. While administering sounds synchronized with the ongoing heartbeat and interspersed with sound omissions, we acquired electroencephalographic and electrocardiographic recordings. In healthy participants, during sleep and wakefulness, and comatose patients with favorable outcomes, a sound omission triggered a heart rate deceleration and a neural prediction error signal, suggesting the preservation of cardio-audio regularity encoding. Comatose patients with unfavorable outcomes did not respond to auditory omissions, suggesting that the extent of preservation of cardiac and auditory integration can serve as a biomarker for coma outcome prognostication. This research highlights a general mechanism for enhancing the detection of unexpected stimuli by leveraging the continuously monitored cardiac signals across different levels of consciousness in humans.
CHUV-UNIL
BIO
Marzia De Lucia is a neuroscientist at the Lausanne University Hospital and the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. She studied Physics at the University of La Sapienza in Rome and was a research fellow at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London. After obtaining her PhD in 2004, she worked at the Medical Physics Department, University College London. In 2006, she joined the CIBM Center for Biomedical Imaging in Lausanne, Switzerland, and in 2016, she was appointed as a senior scientist and lecturer at the University of Lausanne and the University Hospital.
15:30 Coffee Break: Posters and Demos (CIBM Research Staff Scientists + PhD students + Collaborators + Exhibitors)
16:00 Less might be more – An introduction
ABSTRACT
Advancements in MR field strengths have facilitated groundbreaking research, yielding invaluable insights into organ and body anatomy, function, physiology, and metabolism. Nevertheless, it's worth considering the potential drawbacks associated with higher field strengths, such as the substantial purchase and maintenance costs, siting constraints, more challenging physical regimes, and sustainability concerns. These factors could impede their broader clinical application, limiting their clinical benefits to only a select few patients globally.
CHUV-UNIL
BIO
Matthias Stuber is Full Professor at UNIL and Section Head of CIBM MRI CHUV-UNIL. He holds joint appointments at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, USA, and at the LIRYC in Bordeaux France. He is a Gold Medal Recipient and past President of the SCMR, a past President of SMRA, and a Fellow of ISMRM. Since 2022, he is a member of the Research Council of the Swiss National Science Foundation and he is the PI of the shared instrumentation grant that enabled the installation of a low-field system at CIBM MRI CHUV-UNIL.
16:10 Cardiac and pulmonary imaging at 0.55T
ABSTRACT
This talk will focus on recent developments in low field cardiac and pulmonary MRI. There has been recent renewed interest in low-field MRI because it offers opportunities to improve MRI access, to integrate contemporary technology, and to enable new clinical applications. High quality imaging can be achieved using contemporary MRI technology, including modern data acquisition and image reconstruction methods. For cardiac imaging, low field MRI may improve the cost-to-benefit ratio since, despite the clear evidence supporting the use of cardiac MRI for a wide range of indications, cardiac MRI is currently underutilized clinically. For pulmonary imaging, low-field MRI enables improved visualization of the lung parenchymal tissue due to the reduced susceptibility artifacts. Therefore, high-quality structural and functional pulmonary imaging is possible. Moreover, combined cardiac and pulmonary imaging may enable new insights into cardiopulmonary interactions, which are uniquely enabled by the contemporary low-field MRI platform.
Adrienne Campbell-Washburn
NIH
BIO
Dr. Adrienne Campbell-Washburn graduated with her B.Sc. in physics from the University of Western Ontario (Canada), and received her PhD in Medical Physics from University College London (UK). She joined NHLBI in 2013 as a postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Interventions. Dr. Campbell-Washburn was appointed Staff Scientist in 2016 and director of the MR Technology Program in 2017. As of 2020, Dr. Campbell-Washburn became an Earl Stadtman Investigator in NHLBI and the chief of the MRI Technology Program. Dr. Campbell-Washburn is a Junior Fellow of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, a member of the Society for Cardiovascular MRI, and a member of the Magnetic Resonance in Medicine editorial board. Her lab has pioneered 0.55T MRI technology for imaging the heart and lungs.
16:30 Clinical imaging at 0.55T
ABSTRACT
Commercial low-field (0.55T) whole body systems have recently been introduced for clinical MRI, and MIITT in the Department of Radiology at the University of Michigan obtained one such system for exploratory purposes in April 2021. These systems, designed to be lower cost alternatives to higher field MRI scanners, are meant to be deployed both in conventional Radiology Departments but also in unconventional settings such as the Emergency Department. However, because they are equipped with modified hardware, including less powerful gradients and RF coils with fewer channels than other MRI systems, their utility in these settings must be demonstrated before they can be routinely deployed. This presentation will outline efforts to investigate the 0.55T system for routine clinical body and neuroimaging at UM, and describe research applications of this scanner.
UMICH
BIO
Nicole Seiberlich is the Co-Director of the Michigan Institute for Imaging Technology and Translation (MIITT), Research Professor of Cardiovascular Imaging and Professor of Radiology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She received her BS in Chemistry from Yale University in 2001, and completed her PhD thesis at the University of Wuerzburg on the topic of novel Magnetic Resonance Imaging techniques in 2008. Her work in rapid MRI has been funded by the NIH and NSF. She has published more than 90 peer-reviewed manuscripts on the topics of rapid and quantitative MRI, and has been invited to give more than 100 lectures, including the ISMRM/NIBIB New Horizons Lecture. In addition to her professional activities, she has won a number of awards for teaching and mentorship, including the CWRU Diekhoff Award for Excellence in Graduate Mentorship and the ISMRM Outstanding Teacher Award.
16:50 Towards a more sustainable future in medical technology
ABSTRACT
When it comes to medical technology, it is important to innovate responsibly - in other words, sustainably. At Siemens Healthineers we want to work to positively impact not only the well being of patients around the world, but to equally ensure that we use our planet's resources responsibly. Reaching a more sustainable future in medical tecnology is only one of the key area of collaboration between Siemens Healthineers and global key opinion leaders and academic institutions. Strategic partnerships between industry and academia are essential to drive forward knowledge and technology.
Siemens
BIO
Giulia Ginami is a Strategic Partnerships Manager and EMEA Collaborations Lead in Sustainability for Siemens Healthineers, based in London (UK). Prior to this roles she has worked as Global Marketing Manager in Erlangen (Germany) with responsibilities spanning from PET-MRI, high-end 3T systems, and Sustainability in Radiology. Giulia holds a PhD in Cardiac MRI from the University of Lausanne and is an ISMRM Junior Fellow.
CHUV-UNIL
BIO
Professor Denys is a specialist in interventional oncology and, in particular, in the management of primary and secondary liver cancers. He is also Chairman of the European Congress of Interventional Oncology (ECIO) and a member of the Executive Committee of the European Society of Interventional Radiology (CIRSE).
17:30-21h00 Cocktail and networking dinner reception
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