Nick De Zanche

Contact

Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Oncology Dept
Email
dezanche@ualberta.ca
Phone
(780) 989-8155

Overview

Area of Study / Keywords

Electrical Engineering Image-guided Radiation Therapy Magnetic Resonance Imaging radio frequency RF coils


About

Awards:

Professional Credentials

Leadership Roles


Research

Magnetic Resonance Instrumentation

My research program aims to improve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology and enhance not only the imaging performance (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), resolution, speed) but also safety and patient experience. The following are recent examples, with references to the Featured Publications below.

Advanced Receiver Coils and Arrays

Image SNR is directly related to the quality of the detectors (coils) used to acquire the MR signal. We have developed receive coil arrays for various applications including

  • MR-guided focused ultrasound (Proc. ISMRM 2022, p. 1087)
  • Linac-MR (3,4; Proc. ISMRM 2019, p. 1589)
  • High-field MR (6,7; Proc. ISMRM 2017, p. 4415)

We have also expanded the understanding of coil interactions in an array (14) and verified experimentally the benefits of "3D" coils (11).

RF Safety

The RF power deposited in the body during MRI scanning causes heating and is quantified by the specific absorption rate (SAR). Some aspects of RF safety are always included in RF coil design and construction. We have also explored specific RF safety projects, including developing an inexpensive, modular SAR monitor (Proc. ISMRM 2017, p. 2627) for site-built scanners to ensure SAR remains below the safety thresholds defined by national and international standards.

Application of Metamaterials in MRI

Metamaterials are artificial periodic structures engineered to exhibit values of electromagnetic permittivity and permeability that are not achievable with natural materials. In this ongoing collaborative effort, we have demonstrated the use of RF metamaterials to design body excitation coils (1,2). While performance is similar to that of the standard "birdcage" resonator, the metamaterial body coil also provides much better SAR performance and is suitable for use at the higher frequencies of high-field MRI.


Teaching

ONCOL 556 (Laboratory in Imaging): instructor

ONCOL 560 (Technology in Radiation Oncology): course coordinator and instructor

ONCOL 690 (Biomedical Magnetic Resonance Methods and Applications): course coordinator and instructor

ONCOL 691 (Advanced Magnetic Resonance Physics): instructor

Course details

Courses

ONCOL 690 - Biomedical Magnetic Resonance Methods and Applications

Advanced course on modern magnetic resonance techniques including in-depth description of hardware; advanced imaging sequences and image reconstruction methods; methodologies for in-vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Prerequisite: BME 564 and consent of Instructor.


ONCOL 691 - Advanced Magnetic Resonance Physics

Guided lecture course with preparation and delivery of teaching lectures on a current topic of Magnetic Resonance research in conjunction with ONCOL 692 and 693 presentations. Prerequisite: ONCOL 690 and consent of Instructor.


Browse more courses taught by Nick De Zanche

Featured Publications

Hybrid 3T 8-channel Receive Array Using a Metamaterial Slab and Companion Loop Elements: Comparison to a Conventional Array

Proceedings of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 30th annual meeting. 2022 May;


Modular, 3D Printed, Open-source Phantoms for Small Animal Systems

Proceedings of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 30th annual meeting. 2022 May;


Transmit Performance of a Metamaterial Slab as a Passive RF Shimming Element for 3T MRI

Proceedings of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 30th annual meeting. 2022 May;


Using a Large-volume, Lightweight, Modular MRI Phantom with Solid Signal Sources

Proceedings of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 30th annual meeting. 2022 May;


Water-Immersed 8-Dipole Receive Array for MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound of the Brain at 3T

Proceedings of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 30th annual meeting. 2022 May;


Maunder A.M., Iyer A.K., De Zanche N.

IEEE Access. 2022 January; 10 10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3167764


Maunder A.M., Barker C., De Zanche N., Iyer A.K.

IEEE Access. 2022 January; 10 10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3167432


Puddu C., Rao M., Xu X., Deppe M.H., Collier G., Maunder A., Chan H.F., De Zanche N., Robb F., Wild J.M.

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE. 2021 December; 86 (6):3373-3381 10.1002/mrm.28915


Design and Modelling of Metamaterial Resonators for 3 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging

International Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society (ACES) Symposium. 2021 August;


2021 International Conference on Electromagnetics in Advanced Applications, ICEAA 2021. 2021 August; 10.1109/ICEAA52647.2021.9539696


Metamaterial liner RF head coil for 23Na and 1H at 4.7 T

Proceedings of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 29th annual meeting. 2021 May;


Whole-body metamaterial liner RF coil for 1H at 4.7 T with reduced SAR compared to birdcage coil

Proceedings of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 29th annual meeting. 2021 May;


Barta R., Volotovskyy V., Wachowicz K., Fallone B.G., De Zanche N.

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE. 2021 April; 85 (4):2327-2333 10.1002/mrm.28540