EEE 591/592 Seminar:
Improving Magnetic Resonance Imaging with RF Engineering
Assoc. Prof. Yiğitcan Eryaman
University of Minnesota
Date/Time: Friday, March 7, 2025 at 16:00-17:00 TSI
Place: EE 517 (in-person)
Abstract: Magnetic resonance imaging is a medical imaging technology that can create anatomical images with superior soft tissue contrast. MR scanners use strong static magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients and radio frequency (RF) fields to create images. Today, the demand for ultra-high-field MR systems is constantly increasing due to their SNR and contrast advantages. New engineering solutions are needed to improve patient safety and imaging performance at these field strengths. This talk will consist of three parts. The first part will summarize our efforts to demonstrate the safety of MRI at 10.5 T, which made it possible to obtain the world’s first human images at this field strength. The second part will focus on the development of new RF antenna arrays and RF safety validation methods for UHF MRI applications. The last part will present new strategies for safe imaging of patients with metallic implants.
Biography: Dr. Eryaman received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Bilkent University in 2011. After graduation, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the MIT-Research Lab of Electronics and the MGH – Athinoula Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging. He then joined the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Department of Radiology at the University of Minnesota, where he is currently a tenured associate professor. He is an awardee of National Institute of Health (NIH)’s Pathway to Independence Award-K99 (2016). His current research interests include developing solutions to improve Magnetic Resonance Imaging.