Liimatainen Group
Research group information
Unit and faculty
Research Unit of Health Sciences and Technology
Faculty of Medicine
Contact information
Research group leader
- Yliopistotutkija
Researchers
Research group description
Cardiovascular Imaging
Cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of death in Western World having a large societal and economic impact. Fibrosis is part of several cardiac diseases including chronic infarct, hypertrophy, and sarcoidosis. Magnetic resonance imaging has been a golden standard to measure cardiac functional parameters. Furthermore, late gadolinium enhancement, relaxation time mapping among many other MRI techniques were applied to characterize myocardium and its pathologies.
Our research is focusing on to develop novel MRI contrasts for cardiovascular imaging application. The development ranges from clinical environment to preclinical and in vivo implementations. The MRI methods developed and validated by the group include novel MRI contrasts such as Relaxation along Fictitious Field (RAFF). The developed methodology can be used to assess myocardial infarct without contrast agents.
The Liimatainen group is composed of a team of experts in medical physics, chemistry and biomedical engineering. Collaboration network includes several groups from US, Europe and Finland. The research is currently funded by grants from the Academy of Finland, the Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital District, Finnish Foundation for Cardiovascular Research, and Aarne Koskelo Foundation.