Matt Hall - CMIC/WEISS Joint Seminar Series

Invited Speaker:  Matt Hall, NPL - Principal Research Scientist

Title:  Quantification is not enough: Quantitative MRI needs metrology

Abstract: 

qMRI is potentially revolutionary. Although this seems obvious to us working in MR imaging research, it’s easy to forget that quantitative imaging has only just begun to be applied in the clinical, and just how big a step change it offers. Quantitative methods offer a new level of consistency and comparability which enables advanced image reconstruction and analysis, the ability to quantify effect size, and minimise inter-scanner variability. None of this comes for free, though. Metrology and the SI system underpin every meaningful measure on the planet, offering calibration, consistency, and the ability to compare disparate approaches and manufacturer implementations. In many areas of medical imaging it is already embedded, but in MRI metrology is in its infancy. This talk looks at quantitative MRI from a measurement science perspective, outlining what’s happened, what’s been done, and what is still to do. It’s got a pyramid and everything.
 

Bio:  

Matt graduated with an MPhys in Physics from the University of Sheffield in 1998 and a PhD in Maths from Imperial College in 2002 where he worked on statistical mechanics and biological evolution with Prof. Henrik Jensen. He then spent a couple of years working for a small City of London consultancy designing bespoke logistics optimisation software for commercial and government clients in the UK and Denmark. He started work in MRI research in 2004 at St George’s, University of London before moving to UCL where he developed biophysical simulations and image analysis methodologies, primarily in diffusion MRI. He then spent two years working for the UK financial regulator before returning once again to research, this time at UCL’s Institute of Child Health, where he still holds a joint position. He joined NPL in 2017 and is developing the MRI thread within the medical physics group.

Chair: Jamie McClelland