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COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

UNDERSTANDING TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY USING HYBRID DIFFUSION IMAGING & AI

Brain Injury

Enhancing the detection and prediction power of the Smart Brain.

The incidence of sports-related concussions, a form of traumatic brain injury (TBI), is most prevalent among athletes in football, soccer, ice hockey, field hockey and baseball. For this project, Dr. Wu and his partners sought to further optimize the Smart Brain platform to address three critical gaps in patient care: (1) lack of advanced imaging tools to detect TBI, (2) lack of tools to predict individual patient outcomes and (3) need for longitudinal validation and analysis. When combined with the Smart Brain, the team’s hybrid imaging model, employing MRI diffusion techniques, was more effective in detecting TBI than conventional imaging approaches. The hybrid AI-Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) model had an accuracy range of 59–73%, while the Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI) had a range of 64–72%. In contrast, the conventional T-1 image-based classification system had an accuracy range between 52–57%.

 

RESEARCHERS

Principal Investigator
Qianhong Wu, PhD
Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Director, Cellular Biomechanics & Sports Science Lab

Xun Jiao, PhD
Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Students
Jennifer Muller ’17 MSBChE, ’22 PhD
Ruixuan Wang

Partners
Joanie Milhous, Head Coach, Villanova Field Hockey
Feroze Mohamed, PhD, Thomas Jefferson University
Andrew Newberg, MD, Marcus Institute for Integrative Health


 

PROJECT DETAILS

  • The differences between the hybrid imaging models and the conventional approach were statistically significant and promising. The partners continue to collaborate on the integration of AI, DTI and the Smart Brain platform with the aim of providing accurate and practical guidance for clinicians and their patients. 

  • Muller J. J., Wang, R., Milddleton, D., Alizadeh, M., Kang, K.C., Hryczyk, R., Zabrecky G., Hriso, C., Navarreto, E., Wintering, N., Bazzan, A., J., Wu, C., Monti, D. A., Jiao, X., Wu, Q.*, Newberg,  A. B., Mohamed, F. B., 2023 Machine learning-based classification of chronic traumatic brain injury using hybrid diffusion imaging. Frontiers in Neuroscience 17, https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2023.1182509

  • Muller, J., Middleton, D., Alizadeh, M., Zabrecky, G., Wintering, N., Bazzan, A. J., Lang, J., Wu, C., Monti, D.A., Wu, Q.*, Newberg, A., Mohamed, F. 2021 Hybrid Diffusion Imaging Reveals Altered White Matter Tract Integrity and Associations with Symptoms and Cognitive Dysfunction in Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury. NeuroImage: Clinical 30, 102681.

  • Muller, J. et al. (2023). Longitudinal Biomarkers Using Hybrid Diffusion Imaging in Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury: Treatment and Follow-up Analysis. American Journal of Neuroradiology. In Submission.

Project Leads

Qianhong Wu, PhD

Qianhong Wu, PhD
Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Director, Cellular Biomechanics & Sports Science Laboratory
qianhong.wu@villanova.edu

Qianhong Wu, PhD

Xun Jiao, PhD
 Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
xjiao@villanova.edu

FEATURED PROJECTS