Brainmap: Will Grissom, PhD

Title: What’s so exciting about RF pulses?
 
Abstract: Radiofrequency (RF) pulses are a fundamental part of every MRI pulse sequence, but their potential for encoding MR signals and prospectively mitigating image artifacts is often overlooked. In this talk I will present recent progress in RF spatial encoding using frequency-swept pulses and RF field gradients, which could enable low-cost and silent MRI scanners, as well as multiband pulses and the gSlider method (in collaboration with Kawin Setsompop at the Martinos Center), which enable high-resolution diffusion imaging. I will then show how array-compressed RF pulse design can be leveraged to optimize parallel transmission using a small number of transmit channels, and maybe even to numerically optimize transmit coil arrays for high-field MRI based on their performance in specific imaging sequences. In all, I hope to convince you that the development of RF pulses for uses beyond slice selection is a rich area of study, with the potential for impact across field strengths and applications. 
 
Bio: William A Grissom is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science in Nashville. He directs a research group working on RF pulses and hardware for low- and high-field MRI, and also on MR-guided interventions and high-intensity focused ultrasound technologies for applications including non-invasive neurosurgery and neurostimulation.