Marie-Curie Fellow
Research & Training Network
C. Cudalbu (ER)

Marie Curie Fellow (ER) of the FAST project
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland
Contact
 

• T2 Acquisition
  Task 2 exploits the strong synergy between signal processing and MR methodology to reduce the MRSI acquisition-time. It shall use the latest technical developments and (confidential) expertise of our Industrial partners Philips and Siemens concerning high-speed gradients, coil arrays, novel pulse sequence designs for extending the limits of spatial resolution, temporal resolution, and SNR. T2 and T4 also investigate and develop advanced, innovative ways of acquiring MRSI data, at the forefront of MR-methodology. This is a highly challenging task exploring uncharted paths. Data of patients with brain, prostate and breast cancer, diabetes, etc., and of healthy controls will be acquired, co-registered and evaluated with MRI. High-Resolution Magic-Angle Spinning (HRMAS) NMR spectroscopy will provide additional chemical analysis of targeted tissues. Ideally, the feasibility of new concepts can be tested with the virtual scanner of task T3. Ultimately, T2 leads to ultra-fast MRSI. Philips and Siemens play an important role in this task.

• T6 Applications
  Task 6 judges and criticizes/approves FAST's innovations in preclinical and clinical settings. T6 also improves knowledge about diseases and metabolomics, gathered through MRSI. In essence, metabolomics pertains to identification of as many metabolites as possible and to understand each in its own biochemical context. MRSI can measure metabolite concentrations, chemical shifts, pH, etc. non-invasively and therefore has a huge potential for this task. Through time, much more emphasis will be placed on diagnosing and treating symptoms before secondary symptoms occur -- prevention rather than the cure of a (potential) disease. The role of Industrial partner Sanofi-Aventis is important in this task.

Currently working in a large multi-disciplinary team with a variety of high-field research instrumentation at the cutting edge of what is currently available:

• to implement ultra-shortecho-time proton imaging sequences,
• to obtain intimate knowledge of fast shimming methods such as FASTMAP,
• to integrate these capabilities to establish rapid protocols for imaging brain metabolism and neurochemistry,
• to perform rapid imaging of metabolites using hyperpolarized NMR based on the DNP mechanism,
• to build NMR coils at 9.4T and 14T for proton and X nuclei,
• to perform proton MRS studies on different animal models, and
• to implement ¹⁵N MRS.

Cudalbu C, Mlynárik V, Xin L, Gruetter R.Comparison of T₁ relaxation times of the neurochemical profile in rat brain at 9.4T and 14.1T. Magn Reson Med. 2009 Oct;62(4):862-7. 

van Heeswijk RB, Uffmann K, Comment A, Kurdzesau F, Perazzolo C, Cudalbu C, Jannin S, Konter JA, Hautle P, van den Brandt B, Navon G, van der Klink JJ, Gruetter R. Hyperpolarized lithium-6 as a sensor of nanomolar contrast agents.Magn Reson Med. 2009 Jun;61(6):1489-93. 

C. Cudalbu, O. Beuf, S. Cavassil. In vivo short echo time localized 1H MRS of the rat brain at 7T: influence of two strategies of background-accommodation on the metabolite concentration estimation using QUEST, accepted Journal of VLSI Signal Processing Systems, DOI: 10.1007/s11265-008-0187-5. [ abstract ] 

C. Cudalbu, A. Montavont, P. Ryvlin, S. Cavassila. Brain metabolite concentration estimates using MRS in a chronic model of temporal lobe epilepsy, CR Chimie, Volume 11, Issues 4-5, April-May 2008, Pages 434-441. [ abstract ] 

C. Cudalbu, S. Cavassila, H. Rabeson, D. van Ormondt, D. Graveron-Demilly. Influence of Measured and Simulated Basis-Sets on the Metabolite Concentration Estimates, NMR Biomed, 2008, 21: 627-636. [ abstract ]

 C. Cudalbu, A. Rengle, O. Beuf, S. Cavassila. Rat brain metabolite relaxation time estimates using Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy at two different field strengths, C.R. Chimie, Volume 11, Issues 4-5, April-May 2008, Pages 442-447 

H. Rabeson, H. Ratiney, F. Fauvelle, C. Cudalbu, S. Cavassila, A. Bernard, P. Giraudon, D. van Ormondt, D. Graveron-Demilly. Quantitation for in vivo and ex vivo NMR Spectroscopy, Journal of Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials, 2007, 9 (3): 505-511. [ abstract ] 

C. Cudalbu, S. Cavassila, H. Ratiney, D. Grenier, A. Briguet, D. Graveron-Demilly. Estimation of metabolite concentrations of healthy mouse brain by Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy at 7 Tesla, C. R. chimie, 9, 2006, pp 534-538. 

Cristina Cudalbu, Andrada Stan, O. Cozar. Dose distribution in the irradiation of medulloblastoma with two adjacent fields, Studia UBB, Physica, 2003, 48(2), pp 3-11.