Plenary Sessions
Monday, 23 April - Friday, 27 April
Last updated 20 January 2009
New Contrast Agents
Monday, 23 April
Jeffrey L. Evelhoch, Arend Heerschap, Michal Neeman, Pottumarthi V. Prasad, Organizers
Educational Objectives:   Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
  • List examples of specific molecular targets which fluorescent probes can be used to identify and/or quantify;
  • Identify approaches that are being used to develop MR contrast agents which can be used to identify and/or quantify specific molecular targets;
  • Explain how a MR contrast agent can be activated by an enzyme;
  • Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of fluorescent probes and MR contrast agents for identifying specific molecular targets;
  • Predict what role targeted MR contrast agents will play in future clinical practice.
09:00 Contrast with Fluorescent Tubes
Stephen R. Adams, University of California, San Diego, California, USA
09:25 Affinity-Targeted Contrast Agents
Samuel A. Wickline, Barnes Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
09:50 Activated Contrast Agents
Thomas J. Meade, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
Challenges to MRI
Tuesday, 24 April
Michael H. Buonocore, Thomas Kahn, Roderic I. Pettigrew, and J. Thomas Vaughan, Organizers
Educational Objectives:   With regard to ultrasound, X-ray computerized tomography, and PET techniques, upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
  • Describe the theory and operation of each modality;
  • Describe the principal capabilities of each modality in the clinical setting;
  • List significant biomedical questions that are uniquely answered by each modality;
  • List current areas of research and development in each modality;
  • Identify apparent strengths and weaknesses of each modality relative to MR.
08:15 Computed Tomography - Faster and Ever Faster
Willi A. Kalender, Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen, Germany
08:40 PET - The Future Will Lie in Improved Sensitivity and Specificity
Terry Jones, Hammersmith Hospital, London, England, UK
09:05 Ultrasound - From Coarse Screening to 3D Power Color
Thomas R. Nelson, University of California, San Diego, California, USA
MR and Aging
Wednesday, 25 April
Jorg F. Debatin, Mathias Hoehn, and Chrit T. Moonen, Organizers
Educational Objectives:   Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
  • Evaluate the economic and medical implications for MRI of an aging population;
  • Identify technical approaches to enhance patient throughput;
  • Describe how the normal "aged" brain differs from a normal "young" brain;
  • Use various MR techniques to detect disease processes associated with aging in the brain, the cardiovascular system, and the musculoskeletal system.
08:15 The Aging Population - A Challenge to MRI?
Adrian Dixon, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, UK
08:40 The Aging Brain
Nicholas C. Fox, University College London, London, England, UK
09:05 The Aging Body
Robert J. Herfkens, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
Multinuclear MR
Thursday, 26 April
John R. Griffiths, Arend Heerschap, Sarah J. Nelson, and J. Thomas Vaughan, Organizers
Educational Objectives:   Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
  • Describe the role of multinuclear MR in understanding, diagnosing, and treating disease;
  • List three diseases on which multinuclear MR is having a major impact;
  • Evaluate the current and future role of high-field multinuclear MRS, especially regarding exceptional data from high fields;
  • Explain the hardware adjustments required for imaging hyperpolarized gases and describe the role of hyperpolarized gases in assessing pulmonary diseases processes.
08:15 High Field Multinuclear MRS: The Challenge is Paying Off
Michael Garwood, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
08:40 Multinuclear Studies on Metabolism in Disease
Douglas L. Rothman, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
09:05 Hyperpolarized Gas Methods in the Clinic
Hans-Ulrich Kauczor, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany

Current and Future Roles for fMRI
Friday, 27 April
Linda Chang, Peter Jezzard, Denis Le Bihan, and Eric C. Wong, Organizers
Educational Objectives:  Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
  • Explain new developments in quantitative fMRI;
  • Define the requirements for successful clinical fMRI;
  • Describe the potential contributions of fMRI to neuroscience applications;
  • Identify emerging techniques and applications of MRI.
08:15 Mapping Task-Induced Changes in Cerebral Oxygen Metabolism
Richard Hoge, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
08:40 Clinical Applications of fMRI
Keith Thulborn, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, USA
09:05 Advancing our Knowledge of Brain Function and Structure
Karl Zilles, Heinrich-Heine University, Dusseldorf, Germany

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