Dominique Franson and Andrew Dupuis, CWRU

man wearing hololens and looking at 3D scan from an MRI

Quantum Leap

Collaboration with Microsoft on our innovative MRI approach yields major gains, offering promise of earlier disease diagnosis.

Microsoft algorithms increase scan precision, speed

CWRU’s breakthrough, Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting (MRF), surpasses traditional techniques by providing quantitative information; the resulting increase in accuracy is akin to using a thermometer to check for fever, versus feeling a forehead.

MRF’s immense amounts of data pose enormous processing challenges. While exponentially more powerful quantum computers are not yet a full reality, Microsoft developed quantum-inspired algorithms that work on existing machines. The result: 30 percent more precise findings, and up to three times faster scans.

Each Tissue Unique

Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting (MRF) operates on the premise that each tissue has its own distinct “fingerprint” that can be identified through a new approach to conducting MRIs. MRF offers earlier and more accurate identification of potential disease—but also involves a huge amount of data.

Quantum computing provides a way to overcome that obstacle, in that its greater processing power would allow calculations impossible using current means.

Read More in The Daily
scanned fingerprint portrait of the original research team

The original MRF research team: From L-R Kecheng Liu, Jeffrey Sunshine, Vikas Gulani, Jeffrey Duerk, Dan Ma, Mark Griswold, Nicole Seiberlich

man on a gurney being pushed by a nurse toward an MRI machine
Drawing of the magnetic resonance fingerprinting technique

Image: Dan Ma & Mark Griswold

A CWRU Student looking at exploded views of a human body using Microsoft HoloLens

Our Original Collaboration

Our work with Microsoft began with the CWRU-Cleveland Clinic Health Education Campus (scheduled to open in 2019) and plans for a holographic anatomy course.

A Partnership Between:

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