Multimodal Imaging Clinical Translational Research Lab

Multimodal Imaging Clinical Translational Research Lab

The research work of our group is mainly focusing on the technical development and clinical application of cardiovascular imaging, particularly atherosclerosis MR imaging.

Collaborated with my colleagues, a series of novel vessel wall imaging techniques, including simultaneous noncontrast angiography and intraplaque hemorrhage (SNAP), 3D multi-contrast joint intra- and extracranial vessel wall imaging, black-blood MR cine imaging, and ultrasound-based arterial elastography, have been proposed and validated.

Taking advantages of clinical resources and connections of my group, we applied above novel imaging techniques to clinical studies for investigating the prevalence, distribution and predictive value of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques in multiple vascular beds, such as intracranial arteries, extracranial carotid arteries, thoracic aorta, and femoral arteries in Chinese symptomatic and asymptomatic populations. Up to now, we initiated 8 atherosclerosis imaging-based cohort studies to assess the atherosclerotic disease risk in specific population, of which 4 had larger sample size such as Chinese Atherosclerosis Risk Evaluation (CARE-II, n=1000), Cerebrovascular Accident Monitoring, Epidemiology and CaRe QuAlity System (CAMERA, n=1000), Cardiovascular Risk of Old Population (CROP, n=200), and IntraCranial Arterial Stenosis Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Aetiology and Progression (ICASMAP, n=300).

In addition, we also performed a series of studies to determine the imaging biomarkers contributable to the vulnerability of atherosclerotic plaques.

We have published more than 120 articles in English peer-reviewed journals covered by SCI and over 60 articles in Chinese journals. Our efforts will play critical roles in screening for culprit lesions, adjusting treatment strategies, and stratifying risk of ischemic cardiovascular events. The research work of our group has promoted the development, clinical application and dissemination of state-of-the-art atherosclerosis imaging techniques, unveiled the atherosclerotic disease risk, and provided important clues to prevention of cardiovascular events, particularly in Chinese population.