Multidimensional diffusion encoding MRI in HCM (MUDDE)

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Multidimensional diffusion encoding MRI: Novel imaging biomarkers of tissue microstructure in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

• IRAS ID

  262305

• Contact name

  Irvin Teh

• Contact email

  i.teh@leeds.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Leeds

• Duration of Study in the UK

  2 years, 11 months, 31 days

• Research summary

  Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a global disease that is the major cause of sudden death in young people, and can lead to heart failure and stroke. In HCM, the structure of the heart is altered. Heart muscle cells lose their normal highly-ordered arrangement and become more randomly oriented or disarrayed. Abnormal amounts of protein accumulate, via a process known as fibrosis, leading to thickening and stiffening of the heart muscle wall. Current non-invasive methods for assessing HCM are unable to provide information specifically relating to disarray and fibrosis.

  We propose to develop a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method known as multidimensional diffusion encoding (MDE) for imaging the heart. MDE is uniquely
  sensitive to cell size, shape and alignment. This will help assess disarray and fibrosis, and may improve identification of individual patient risk. Movement of the beating heart is a major obstacle in MRI. We propose to design new techniques for minimising the effects of motion, thereby enabling MDE of the beating heart for the first time. We will verify with independent imaging methods that the MRI measurements are indeed representative of the underlying biological structures.

• REC name

  Yorkshire & The Humber - South Yorkshire Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  19/YH/0324

• Date of REC Opinion

  21 Oct 2019

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion