Cerebral lymphatic vessels have been identified in the dura mater alongside blood vessels in the brain. These small vessels are believed to be a critical component of the central nervous system (CNS) as a waste clearance pathway for the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and interstitial fluid (ISF), which may play a crucial role in many brain diseases. Non-invasive imaging techniques are very limited for the cerebral lymphatic vessels. Due to the small sizes of the lymphatic vessels, high spatial resolution is required, which leads to a temporal resolution of several minutes in most existing approaches. Such temporal resolution is usually not sufficient to detect the dynamic signal changes in the lymphatic vessels. In this talk, I will introduce a recently developed MRI sequence for the measurement of dynamic signal changes in the cerebral lymphatic vessels with a sub-millimeter spatial resolution, a temporal resolution of <10s, and whole brain coverage.

Dr. Hua’s research has centered on the development and application of novel MRI technologies for in vivo functional and physiological imaging in the brain. These include the development of human and animal MRI methods to measure functional brain activities, cerebral perfusion and oxygen metabolism at high (3 Tesla) and ultra-high (7 Tesla and above) magnetic fields. He is particularly interested in novel MRI approaches to image small blood and lymphatic vessels in the brain. Collaborating with clinical investigators, these techniques have been applied to detect functional, vascular and metabolic abnormalities in the brain in neurodegenerative diseases.