You are invited to attend this FREE EVENT:

VBIC Network Meeting 2017

Friday, October 27, 2017 from 10:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Registration from 10:00AM

The Victorian Biomedical Imaging Capability (VBIC) provides a coordinated network of capabilities and research capacity in biomedical imaging to support universities and medical research institutes.

Join us for the latest capabilities, new techniques, methods, tools and resources, as well as the latest biomedical and molecular imaging applications.

Session 1: VBIC Node Updates Registration

Start 10.30am

Welcome and Introductions Professor Gary Egan

Clayton Node Professor Gary Egan, VBIC Node Director
Werribee Node Dr Marjorie Milne, VBIC Node Director
Hawthorn node Professor Susan Rossell, VBIC Node Director
Austin Node Professor Graeme Jackson, VBIC Node Director
Parkville Node Professor Roger Ordidge, VBIC Node Director
ONJCRI/La Trobe Node Kerryn Westcott, ACRF Centre Project Manager

Networking Lunch

Session 2: New techniques, methods, tools and resources

Start 1:00pm

Dr Thomas Close, Senior Informatics Officer, Monash Biomedical Imaging

Integrating Monash Biomedical Imaging’s informatics systems with XNAT

XNAT is an open-source informatics platform for neuroimaging research, which is used by many leading institutions and collaborative projects (e.g. The Human Connectome Project). Monash Biomedical Imaging recently migrated its imaging archive to XNAT, enabling tighter integration of its informatics systems, from the ingestion of MR, PET and EEG data to automated image analysis on HPC infrastructure.

Dr Talitha Ford, PhD Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University of Technology.

A step-by-step guide for MEG users

Since the MEG facility opened in 2012, it has been utilised widely in Melbourne and interstate, however, there has been no tool available to prospective and current users to aid in the development of MEG projects, and collection and analysis of MEG data. To this end, a MEG Wiki was developed for the Swinburne Neuroimaging facility to guide users through conducting a MEG experiment. In this talk, I will introduce the tool and demonstrate its utility for prospective and current researchers.

Professor Alan Connelly Head of the Advanced MRI Development Group at the Florey, and co-Head of the Florey Imaging Division

Fixel based analysis: Investigating white matter density and morphology

This presentation will explain the basis for the diffusion MRI analysis approach known as Fixel Based Analysis (FBA), and show example results of application of FBA to clinical cohorts to illustrate its use in detecting fibre tract specific white matter connectivity reductions associated with brains disease states.

Dr Stewart Ryan, BVSc(Hons), MS Diplomate ACVS, Founding Fellow ACVS (Surgical Oncology) Senior Lecturer and Head of Small Animal Surgery service UVet Hospital, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Werribee

Translational research in client-owned and experimental animals

Dogs and cats that present with spontaneously cancers are excellent translational models for similar diseases in humans. This presentation will highlight how clinical trials in companion animals provide an important bridge between benchtop and rodent studies and clinical trials and applications in people with a focus on how different diagnostic imaging modalities can be used for assessing response to therapy.

Assoc. Prof. Bradford A. Moffat, Principal Research Fellow, National Imaging Fellow, Melbourne Biomedical Imaging Capability (MBIC), Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, MDHS, The University of Melbourne

New Ultra-high field methods and applications

This presentation will demonstrate the latest and greatest high-field human methods and applications available on the Melbourne Brain Centre’s 7T MRI system. During the last year the MBCIU has taken delivery of two receive coil arrays, one an 8-channel eye coil and the other an 8-channel c-spine coil. In addition, we have either developed or obtained several new MRI pulse sequences that allow us to push the technological boundaries of what 7T MRI can explore in terms of quantification, high spatial and temporal resolutions. These include quantification of iron, sodium, Glu, GABA, and GSH, high resolution 4D imaging of the eye, and 4D MSK imaging.

Afternoon Tea

Session 3: Latest biomedical and molecular imaging applications

Start 3:00pm

Dr Phillip Ward, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function and Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience

Magnetic susceptibility-based MRI of cerebral veins

Magnetic susceptibility-based MRI techniques, particularly quantitative susceptibility mapping, make non-invasive imaging of the entire cerebral venous vasculature possible. Dr Phillip Ward will share the analysis techniques and novel findings from his work on the extraction and interpretation of this rich information source.

Application of brain metabolic quantifcation using ultra-high field MRI to understanding brain biochemistry

The MBCIU has begun several key collaborations with several neuroscience research groups to understand brain biochemistry. This presentation will explore the application of 7T MRS and MRI to understanding the role of key brain metabolites in healthy humans and participants with psychosis, dementia, migraine and brain tumours.

Professor Graeme Jackson MBBS, MD, FRACP, Deputy Director of The Florey Institute of Neuroscience & Mental Health, Professorial Fellow of the University of Melbourne and Clinical Research Fellow of the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC)

Application of novel imaging methods to the study of spike wave epilepsies

Childhood absence epilepsy is the most common form of epilepsy in childhood. It is associated with a characteristic spike wave pattern that likely represents a network of activity within the brain. This study looks at abnormalities within white matter tracts and demonstrates interacting networks that may further explain this clinical phenotype.

Dr. Stewart Ryan, BVSc(Hons), MS Diplomate ACVS, Founding Fellow ACVS (Surgical Oncology) Senior Lecturer and Head of Small Animal Surgery service, UVet Hospital, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Werribee

Interventional radiology - an emerging clinical discipline in veterinary practice

Interventional radiology provides real time imaging with fluoroscopy for a variety of endovascular indications and natural luminal conditions. This presentation will showcase examples of how this imaging modality is changing the treatment options available for a variety of conditions ranging from urinary tract obstructions to anomalous vessel closure to tracheal stenting.

Peter Yoo, PhD candidate, Melbourne Brain Centre Imaging Unit/Vascular Bionics Lab, The University of Melbourne

Towards a pre-surgical diagnostic tool for invasive Brain-Computer-Interfaces using ultra-high-field fMRI

Invasive Brain-Computer-Interfaces (BCIs) provide substantial hope for restoring independence to people with paralysis, however, they entail risky implantation surgeries with serious health risks. Thus, pre-surgical estimation of the ability to operate invasive BCIs at the individual level would be ideal. Functional neuroimaging at ultra-high-field MRI systems could reveal nuances in the spatiotemporal dynamics of information flow across long-range cortical networks the individual level, which may provide useful information to estimate one’s ability to operate invasive BCIs. In this talk, the current progress in demonstrating the feasibility of utilising ultra-high-field fMRI as a pre-surgical diagnostic tool for invasive BCIs will be discussed.

MBI Tour (optional)

Start 4:45pm

Networking drinks in MBI foyer

Start 4:45pm

FREE EVENT!

Morning tea, lunch and late afternoon networking drinks provided.

Register now to secure your place!

Download the official flyer here.