On November 7, 2024, the biomedical imaging community gathered at the Rolex Learning Center, at EPFL, for the CIBM Annual Symposium 2024, a special event as it marked CIBM’s 20th Anniversary. The symposium offered a full day of dynamic discussions, groundbreaking presentations, and interactive sessions, celebrating two decades of excellence and innovation in biomedical imaging. With a high attendance of over 250 participants, the event showcased the strong interest and engagement within the scientific and medical community, highlighting the pivotal role of CIBM in advancing the field.
The event began with a Welcome Breakfast and Poster session, setting a collaborative and engaging tone right from the start. Attendees, including researchers, students, and professionals from various institutions, had the chance to connect over coffee, while exploring the posters that showcased the latest research in fields ranging from diffusion MRI to computational psychiatry. This early networking session buzzed with conversations and set the stage for the day’s inspiring agenda.
Opening and Unveiling of the CIBM TESSERACT Initiative
Following the Opening remarks from Pina Marziliano, CIBM’s Executive Director, and Frédéric Herman, Rector of UNIL and CIBM Council member, one of the day’s highlights was the Unveiling of the CIBM TESSERACT Initiative. This ambitious project aims to revolutionise our understanding of curiosity, creativity, and cooperation in schoolchildren. The initiative, involving over 25 CIBM scientists, leverages advanced biomedical imaging to explore these essential human traits, with Dr. Solange Denervaud coordinating efforts across CIBM’s founding partner institutions. The CIBM TESSERACT Initiative represents a bold step forward for CIBM, setting the stage for impactful research that bridges science, education, and societal benefit.
Impressive Lineup of Speakers and Sessions
The symposium officially kicked off with renowned experts taking the stage throughout the day, covering a wide array of topics.
The morning keynote speaker Peter Bandettini from the National Institutes of Mental Health began with his talk, Towards Increased Precision, Interpretability, and Impact: The Future of fMRI. His presentation highlighted the evolution of fMRI technology and its impact on neuroscience, from ultra-high resolution imaging to insights into brain activity patterns.
Followed by two members of the CIBM Scientific Steering Committee, Head of the CIBM Signal Processing CHUV EPFL Section Jean-Philippe Thiran who gave with an in-depth look at Computational Diffusion MRI for Microstructure Imaging, highlighting advancements in MRI technology for tissue analysis with applications in both brain imaging and oncology.. and the newly appointed Head of the CIBM Data Science CHUV-HUG Section Jonas Richiardi presented his work on Treatment Planning and Disease Subtyping with Imaging for Precision Medicine, shedding light on how imaging and deep learning can improve patient outcomes in stroke care and heart failure treatment.
The afternoon session started with Klaas Enno Stephan from ETH Zurich, who discussed Translational Neuromodeling, Computational Psychiatry, exploring computational models for mental health disorders, followed by CIBM alumni Özlem Ipek from King’s College London, who discussed Exploring Parallel-Transmit (pTx) MRI Applications with Multi-nuclei RF Coil Design, Multi-modal Imaging and RF Safety for Implanted Electrodes, a cutting-edge approach in MRI that enhances image quality and safety, particularly for patients with implants. CIBM Affiliate member and long time collaborator Carmen Sandi from EPFL presented Neurometabolic Links Between Anxiety and Motivation and finally ending the scientific part of the day, the newly appointed Head of the CIBM EEG HUG-UNIGE Section Serge Vulliémoz who showcased innovations in EEG-based brain mapping in Brain Networks and Multimodality: Building on 100 Years of EEG.
For Bio of the speakers and abstract of their speech, please visit the event page here
Reflecting on 20 Years of Excellence
As part of the 20th Anniversary celebration, Giorgio Margaritondo, Honorary Professor at EPFL presented Birth of CIBM: Secrets, Miracles, and Heroes, recounting the journey of CIBM from its inception to its current standing as a leader in biomedical imaging. His narrative was both nostalgic and inspiring, paying tribute to the visionaries, scientists, and collaborators who have contributed to CIBM’s growth and impact over the years.
The symposium concluded with a lively Panel Session on the Evolution and Future of CIBM, featuring influential figures like Denis Le Bihan (Neurospin CEA), Reto Meuli (CHUV-UNIL), Andreas Mortensen (EPFL), and Jean-Paul Vallée (HUG-UNIGE). The panellists discussed emerging trends, challenges, and the strategic direction for CIBM as it enters its next phase of innovation and collaboration.
The discussion underscored the importance of fostering interdisciplinary collaboration—a defining hallmark of CIBM. Panellists reflected on the evolution of partnerships across the founding institutions, emphasising the necessity of breaking down silos between institutions and academic disciplines. The initial hurdles of collaboration have given way to a strong and effective network that integrates diverse expertise in imaging, engineering, and medicine. One of the conclusions was that the CIBM’s ability to remain at the forefront should involve even deeper integration of neuroscience, engineering, and clinical applications. Looking to the future, the panellists identified several key priorities for CIBM: the need to invest in the next generation of scientists, advocating for early engagement with students to inspire careers in biomedical imaging and related fields.
A Heartfelt Thank You to All
As the event drew to a close, the CIBM team extended heartfelt thanks to all speakers, attendees, and partners who contributed to the success of the symposium. The gathering was not only a celebration of past achievements but also a look towards the future, as CIBM continues its commitment to pushing the boundaries of biomedical imaging and healthcare technology.
The CIBM Annual Symposium 2024 was made possible thanks to the invaluable support of our sponsors: Nestlé HealthScience, Siemens Healthineers, and Bruker. These organisations are more than just sponsors; they are long-standing partners who have been instrumental in CIBM’s journey, sharing our vision for innovation and excellence in biomedical imaging. We extend our heartfelt gratitude for their continued collaboration and commitment to advancing science and healthcare.
We would also like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the EPFL Mediacom Events Team and the EPFL Repro Team for their outstanding efforts in ensuring the seamless organization and execution of this milestone event. Thank you for your dedication and collaboration!
With a strong sense of community, innovation, and shared purpose, the CIBM Annual Symposium 2024 truly embodied the spirit of CIBM’s mission — advancing science for the benefit of society. Here’s to the next 20 years of discovery and excellence!
PHOTO GALLERY
POSTERS
FID Backward Linear Prediction with Two Autoregressive Algorithms for Full Compensation of Acquisition Delays
Alessio Siviglia, Brayan Alves, Jessie Mosso, Cristina Cudalbu, Bernard Lanz
A High-Definition Anatomical Brain Template of One Individual Healthy Subject
Alexandre Cionca, Yasser Alemán-Gómez, Elodie Savary, Céline Provins, Patric Hagmann, Oscar Esteban
Optimizing Rosette Spectroscopic Imaging for Mapping Neurotransmitters at 7T
André Döring, Zhiwei Huang, Antonia Kaiser, Karl Landheer, Uzay Emir, Lijing Xin
Mapping Grey and White Matter Activity in the Human Brain with Isotropic ADC-fMRI
Arthur Spencer, Jasmine Nguyen-Duc, Inès de Riedmatten, Filip Szczepankiewicz, Ileana Jelescu
Assessment of LR-TGV Reconstruction on Preclinical Compressed Sensing 1H-FID-MRSI at 14.1T
Brayan Alves, Jessie Mosso, Thanh Lê, Antoine Klauser, Bernard Lanz, Cristina Cudalbu
Characterization of CMR-Derived Cardiovascular Markers
Costa Georgantas, Jaume Banus, Jonas Richiardi
Real-Time Functional MRI Neurofeedback in Functional Neurological Disorder
Eliane Müller, Nicolas Gninenko, Serafeim Loukas, Dimitri Van De Ville, Selma Aybek
Towards a Consensus Epilepsy Connectome for Structure-Function Coupling
Emeline Mullier, Jonathan Wirsich, Isotta Rigoni, Dimitri van de Ville, Patric Hagmann, Serge Vulliémoz
Clinical Neuroradiological Exams Using 7T Terra.X MRI
Emilie Sleight, Antoine Klauser, Bénédicte Delattre, Daniele Botta, Lukas Sveikata, Ioana Hutuca, Tom Hilbert, Frédéric Grouiller, Karl-Olof Lövblad, Felix Kurz
Sex Differences in Alzheimer’s Disease Using Pet Molecular Imaging
Ghazal Hamidi Madani, Cecilia Boccalini, Débora Elisa Peretti, Max Scheffler, John Prior, Alessandra Griffa, Gilles Allali, Giovanni B. Frisoni, Valentina Garibotto
Individually Optimized Dynamic Parallel Transmit Pulses for 3D High-Resolution SPACE Imaging at 7T
Gian Franco Piredda, Thomas Yu, Antoine Klauser, Natalia Pato Montemayor, Jocelyn Philippe, Lina Bacha, Tommaso Di Noto, Bénédicte Maréchal, Patrick Liebig, Dominik Nickel, Tobias Kober, Tom Hilbert, Robin Heidemann, Jürgen
Deep Learning Microstructure Estimation of Developing Brains From Diffusion MRI: A Newborn and Fetal Study
Hamza Kebiri, Ali Gholipour, Rizhong Lin, Lana Vasung, Camilo Calixto, Zeljka Krsnik, Davood Karimi, Meritxell Bach Cuadra
Resting Breathing Contribution to the BOLD- And ADC-fMRI Signals
Inès de Riedmatten, Arthur Spencer, Jasmine Nguyen-Duc, Jean-Baptiste Perot, Ileana Jelescu
T1 Mapping of the Carotid Artery Vessel Wall with Correction of B1+ and Respiratory Motion
Isabel Montón Quesada, Augustin C. Ogier, Pauline Calarnou,Jean-Baptiste Ledoux, Christopher W. Roy, Jérôme Yerly, Matthias Stuber, Ruud B. van Heeswijk
Large-Scale Unbiased Eye Atlases in MRI
Jaime Barranco, Philip Stachs, Oscar Esteban, Yasser Aleman, Sönke Langner, Oliver Stachs, Benedetta Franceschiello, Meritxell Bach Cuadra
Astrocyte Integration: Enhancing White Matter Numerical Substrates for Diffusion MRI Simulations
Jasmine Nguyen-Duc, Melina Cherchali, Jean-Baptiste Pérot, Rémy Gardier, Jonathan Rafael-Patino, Ileana Jelescu
Spatio-Temporal Graph Representation of Cardiac Dynamics
Jaume Banus Cobo, Roger Hullin, Philippe Meyer, Ruud B. van Heeswijk, Jonas Richiardi
ADC-fMRI of Excitatory and Inhibitory Responses to Visual Stimulation in the Rat Brain
Jean-Baptiste Perot, Andreea Hertanu, Arthur Spencer, Matthew Budde, Jasmine Nguyen-Duc, Francesca Barcellini, Nikolaos Molochidis, Maxime Yon, Ileana Jelescu
Evaluating the Effects of Motion on Dynamic pTx Pulse Performance at 7T
Jocelyn Philippe, Natalia Pato Montemayor, Antoine Klauser, Emilie Sleight, Patrick A. Liebig, Jürgen Herrler, Robin M. Heidemann, Tobias Kober, Jean-Philippe Thiran, Tom Hilbert, Gian Franco Piredda, Thomas Yu
Disruption of Functional Gradient in Patients with Genetic Generalized Epilepsy: Evidence from High-Density EEG
Juanli Zhang, Serge Vulliémoz, Nicolas Roehri
Investigating Ultrasound-Mediated Blood-Brain Barrier Opening as a Strategy to Improve Drug Delivery in Alzheimer’s Disease
Ceyzériat Kelly, Benjamin Tournier, Rares Salomir, Philippe Millet, Kelly Ceyzériat
Differentiable Temporal (DETECT) Loss for Liver Cancer Screening in 4D Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI
Killian Monnin, Patrick Jeltsch, Lucia Mendes-Fernandes, Mario Jreige, Montserrat Fraga Christinet, Raphaël Girardet, Clarisse Dromain, Naïk Vietti-Violi, Jonas Richiardi
Registered Report: From Pre- to Post-Natal Brain Asymmetry: Callosal Contribution and Relationships with Cognitive and Genetic Factors
Léa Schmidt, Meritxell Bach Cuadra, Mériam Koob, Vladyslav Zalevskyi, Thomas Sanchez, Jonas Richiardi, Vanessa Siffredi
Long-Term Blood Pressure Variability is Associated with White Matter Integrity and Cognitive Decline in Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy
Lukas Sveikata, Maria Clara Zanon Zotin, Dorothee Schoemaker, Yuan MA, Valentina Perosa, Anthipa Chokesuwattanaskul, Andreas Charidimou, Marco Duering, Edip M. Gurol, Frédéric Assal, Steven M. Greenberg, Anand Viswanathan
Validation of EEG Source Reconstruction with Simultaneous Intracranial EEG in Patients with Epilepsy
Maria Chondrou, Andrea Pigorini, Ezequiel Mikulan, Laurent Spinelli, Shahan Momjian, Margitta Seeck, Serge Vulliemoz, Nicolas Roehri
Interpretability of Uncertainty: Exploring Cortical Lesion Segmentation in Multiple Sclerosis
Nataliia Molchanova, Alessandro Cagol, Pedro Gordaliza, Mario Ocampo-Pineda, Po-Jui Lu, Xinjie Chen, Matthias Weigel, Adrien Depeursinge, Henning Muller, Cristina Granziera, Meritxell Bach Cuadra
Graph Signal Processing and EEG: Methological Considerations
Nicolas Roehri, Nicolas Roehri, Stanislas Lagarde, Margitta Seeck, Dimitri Van De Ville, Patrick Hagmann, Isotta Rigoni, Serge Vulliemoz
Radioligands R&D for Targeted Diagnostic and Therapy
Olivia Bejuy, Frédéric Bois, Andrea Grotzky, Didier J. Colin, Valentina Garibotto
SISMIK: Search in Segmented Motion Input (in) K-space
Oscar Dabrowski, Jean-Luc Falcone, Antoine Klauser, Michel Kocher, Bastien Chopard, Francois Lazeyras, Frédéric Grouiller, Sébastien Courvoisier
Wideband Myocardial T2 Mapping: A Preliminary Evaluation in an Implantable Cardiac Device Taped on Healthy Volunteers at 1.5T
Pauline Gut, D. Kim , H. Cochet, F. Sacher , P. Jais, M. Stuber, A. Bustin
Towards Longitudinal Characterization of Multiple Sclerosis Atrophy Employing Synthseg Framework and Normative Modeling
Pedro M. Gordaliza, Nataliia Molchanova, Maxence Wynen, Pietro Maggi, Jaume Banus, Joost Janssen, Alessandro Cagol, Cristina Granziera, Meritxell Bach Cuadra
Motion-corrected Free-running 4D MRI of the Fetal Heart – From in Silico to in Vivo
Robin Ferincz, Mariana B.L. Falcão, Aurelio Secinaro, Guido Buonincontri, Leonor Alamo, Estelle Tenisch, Milan Prsa, Davide Piccini, Jérôme Yerly, Matthias Stuber, Christopher W. Roy
An fMRI Study of Reward Processing in Schoolchildren
Sara Kabashi, Emeline Mullier, Remy Furrer, Philippe Eon Duval, Vanessa Siffredi, Jean-Baptiste Ledoux, David Sander, Eleonora Fornari, Solange Denervaud
Impact of Prolonged Cognitive Load on Cortical Activity: An fNIRS Investigation with Healthy Adults
Selima Zahar, Julie Hudry, Dimitri Van De Ville
Improving Reliability in Fetal Brain MRI Analysis
Thomas Sanchez, Oscar Esteban, Angeline Mihailov, Vvan Gomez, Alexandre Pron, Gerard Marti Juan, Mariam Koob, Vincent Dunet, Nadine Girard, Andras Jakab, Elisenda Eixarch, Guillaume Auzias, Meritxell Bach Cuadra
Fast Pupillary and Auditory Responses to High Temporal Modulated Sounds Suggest a Human Magnocellular Auditory Pathway for Threat Detection
Trisia Cinca Tomás, Emmanouela Kosteletou Kassotaki, Jordi Costa-Faidella, Carles Escera, Judith Domínguez-Borràs
Improving Cross-Domain Brain Tissue Segmentation in Fetal MRI with Synthetic Data
Vladyslav Zalevskyi, Thomas Sanchez, Margaux Roulet, Jordina Aviles Verdera, Jana Hutter, Hamza Kebiri, Meritxell Bach Cuadra
Optimization of Brain Glucose and Lactate Measurement Using Ultrashort-TE STEAM at 7 T: Feasibility and Preliminary Results
Ying Xiao, Bernard Lanz, André Döring, Lijing Xin
Rosette Spectroscopic Imaging for Whole-Brain Metabolite Mapping at 7T: Acceleration Potential and Reproducibility
Zhiwei Huang, Uzay Emir, Andre Doring, Antoine Klauser, Ying Xiao, Mark Widmaier, Lijing Xin