Your Donations in Action: Walter Zhao

Radiomics is a promising approach to quantitative analysis of medical images, including MRI data. However, the inherent variability in conventional MRI acquisition, reconstruction and preprocessing poses a significant barrier to consistent and reliable reproducibility of MR radiomic findings.

Magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF) is a rapid quantitative imaging technique that provides repeatable measurements of tissue properties. Unlike traditional MRI, MRF produces maps of biophysical parameters such as T1 and T2 relaxation times while retaining the excellent soft tissue contrast unique to MR.

For his 2022 RSNA Research Medical Student Grant project, Walter Zhao, an MD-PhD Student at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, and colleagues aimed to characterize the reproducibility of MRF-derived radiomic features and establish physiological reference ranges for these metrics.

The project involved test-retest brain MRI images including T1w, T2w, T2w FLAIR, and diffusion acquired alongside MRF, and measurement of the reproducibility of downstream handcrafted intensity and texture features (e.g., GLCM) in well-established cortical and subcortical brain regions.

The researchers also identified MRF feature stability and physiological reference ranges.

“The results of this work may be immediately topical to addressing widespread concerns regarding radiomics reproducibility, as well as representing a proof-of-concept study involving synthesis of quantitative MRI with radiomics analysis,” Zhao said.

The R&E Foundation grant funding was essential in providing Zhao with the foundational resources to pursue research in quantitative imaging and data science.

“Thanks to this grant’s support, we have taken this study from the ideation stage to publication, with multiple follow-up projects applying our method towards translational and clinical applications,” he said. “As an MD-PhD student hoping to pursue radiology residency, I am grateful to have had this opportunity to contribute to our advancement of medical imaging knowledge and am excited for future opportunities.”

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Learn more about R&E Foundation funding opportunities.