Brice Williams
BME PhD Proposal Presentation

Date: 2025-12-15
Time: 1-3 pm
Location / Meeting Link: HSRB2 N600

Committee Members:
John Oshinski, PhD (Advisor); Shella Keilholz, PhD; Jonathan Lewin, MD; Nealen Laxpati, MD/PhD; Alexander Adams, PhD; 


Title: Quantifying drivers of cerebrospinal fluid movement using MRI

Abstract:
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics play a crucial role in the clearance of brain waste and altered CSF dynamics have been found in many neurological diseases, including traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer’s. CSF movement has been shown to be driven by cardiac pulsation, respiration, and external stimuli and is enhanced in sleep. However, the quantitative response of CSF dynamics to drivers remains unclear and hence there is no translatable model or diagnostic metric of CSF dynamics that could be used in clinical care. The movement of CSF is driven by volume displacement in the skull. Drivers that influence CSF dynamics act on blood flow entering (arterial), leaving (venous), or remaining in the brain (cerebral blood volume). Therefore, the overall goal of this proposal is to use MRI to model how changes in arterial flow, venous flow, and brain motion interact to affect CSF flow, and to develop a clinically relevant metric of CSF dynamics. The specific aims of this project are: (Aim 1) Compare the sensitivity and accuracy of phase-contrast MRI and BOLD-EPI to flows in the CSF range using a flow phantom. (Aim 2) Quantify the in-vivo relationship of CSF drivers, blood flow response, and CSF flow response over a range of driver strengths using phase-contrast and DENSE MRI. (Aim 3) Create a model for CSF flow based on blood flow input and use this to study the change in CSF dynamics in patients with Chiari-1 malformation, in which CSF flow through the foramen magnum is obstructed. Together these aims will develop a robust model based on MRI for characterizing CSF dynamics which has direct clinical application as a method to measure CSF flow deficit in Chiari-1 patients.