Apply new improved-image technologies and new techniques for obtaining biochemical information on tissue to high-field-strength magnetic resonance could lead to significant advances in the medical field. Thanks to the accurate early diagnosis that this enables, unnecessary surgical procedures could be avoided. In an interview with the Aspen Italia website team, Riccardo Lattanzi – a biomedical engineer and professor at the Center for Biomedical Imaging at the New York University School of Medicine – explains the benefits of interaction between engineers and doctors in clinical research.
What’s an engineer doing at the New York School of Medicine?
My work mainly focuses on techniques and technologies for magnetic resonance at high field strength (7 Tesla, or 140,000 times the Earth’s magnetic field). This involves a new generation of machines, which enable higher-resolution morphological images to be obtained. The scope of my research chiefly extends to theoretical studies for the design of innovative radiofrequency coils capable of efficiently creating a uniform signal distribution in transmission and maximizing the signal-noise ratio in reception. Indeed, at high field strength, the electromagnetic field generated by the coils interacts with biological tissue, making it difficult to obtain a homogeneous signal, which would allow gray contrasts between different regions in the images produced to be interpreted diagnostically. These problems can be addressed both by improving the design of traditional coils, and by developing coil arrays that act in parallel for greater control of the overall distribution of the electromagnetic field.
What practical applications are expected to result from this research?
The purpose of our research is to enable high-field-strength magnetic resonance, which currently only exists in research laboratories, to be used in clinical routine. One of the advantages of this type of resonance is that the signal is much higher in strength than that available in present clinical machinery. For example, we can obtain high-quality images of the brain with a resolution of up to 0.2 mm, and this could pave the way for new diagnostic prospects. Another area I’m researching is the use of magnetic resonance to obtain biochemical information on tissue. For instance, using appropriate resonance signal acquisition protocols, it is possible to obtain an early assessment of the condition of articular cartilage by indirectly measuring the concentration of certain biochemical compounds. This makes it possible to determine if cartilage that appears intact in morphological images is actually also healthy at a biochemical level, or whether it is already irreparably compromised. This is very important information for orthopedic surgeons, because certain joint operations are only successful if at the time of surgery the cartilage is undamaged. Hence, an accurate preoperative diagnosis could avoid unnecessary procedures, benefiting both patients and the health system.
What course of studies led you to combine engineering and medicine?
My interest in applied medical engineering dates back to the degree in electronic engineering I did at the University of Bologna, where I pursued a biomedical track. I settled on a thesis proposal in collaboration with the medical technology laboratory at the Rizzoli Orthopedic Hospital, which allowed me to work closely with doctors and engineers. I later received my PhD in the United States, attending an MIT-Harvard Medical School joint program, which integrated the two disciplines even further and required sitting engineering exams at MIT and medical exams at Harvard. When conducting biomedical research, it is essential to have a grasp of the needs and language of doctors, not just to find solutions to clinical problems, but also to ensure that they are understood and adopted as widely as possible. My Italian degree in engineering instilled in me a study method that I continued to use during my PhD and which has helped me a lot. I think that engineers trained in Italy get a very good grounding. This is one of the reasons why I’m looking for electronic engineering students to bring over to New York to work on joint research projects with Italian universities.
Given that engineers trained in Italy receive such a solid grounding, how can we bring this talent to light?
Joint study programs, where students do part of their doctorate or master’s equivalent degree abroad, are very useful and easy to put together or replicate based on models already existing in some departments. The Italian doctorate, however, needs to be overhauled by introducing higher quality standards and incentives that attract students from abroad. With regard to the biomedical sciences, instead of spreading resources thinly across many departments that often conduct research into the same areas, it would be more worthwhile to create large specialized research centers in order to generate the critical mass necessary to achieve international visibility. Finally, there is a cultural issue: if Italy wants to showcase its engineering talent, it needs to invest in raising the profile of science. It is not just a problem of lack of media exposure: universities in America have their own press offices that publish informative articles on a daily basis detailing the research being carried out by professors and students. This certainly serves as a form of marketing, but it also allows the general public to understand and learn about things that would otherwise only be found in scientific journals. And, more importantly, it can help encourage young people to take up scientific studies.
