Low-cost Quantitative Assessment of Brain Maturation

Vasily Yarnykh from the University of Washington in the U.S. will test whether measuring myelin content in the brain using a low-cost magnetic resonance imaging method can act as a reliable biomarker for brain maturation. They will build on a method involving the measurement of the macromolecular proton fraction by magnetic resonance. This method will be converted to a non-image-based and non-localized method that can be more easily and inexpensively used to measure myelin content in developing countries. The new method will be tested for accuracy compared to the standard method, and used on children of a range of ages to see if it can differentiate brain maturation level.