Ph. D. Project
Title:
Multicenter optimisation of diffusion MRI tractography for brain radiotherapy: from acquisition to clinical integration
Dates:
2026/03/30 - 2029/02/28
Student:
Supervisor(s):
Description:
This thesis is part of the European INTERREG PROTECT-DTI project, dedicated to improving the personalisation and tolerance of brain radiotherapy treatments in patients with brain metastases. The overall objective is to use diffusion MRI to better identify and preserve the white matter tracts involved in essential brain functions. The work will focus more specifically on Work Package 1, led by the CHR Metz-Thionville, whose objective is to harmonise and optimise diffusion MRI acquisitions in a multicentre context. The thesis will aim to compare and validate different modelling and tractography approaches (DTI, advanced methods such as GQI), taking into account the significant clinical constraints of radiotherapy (limited acquisition time, reproducibility, inter-site transferability).
Particular attention will be paid to reducing acquisition time while maintaining sufficient quality for clinical use. Innovative approaches based on artificial intelligence, particularly self-supervised learning, may be explored to reconstruct diffusion data from accelerated acquisitions.
The thesis will also include the development of a standardised treatment and tractography pipeline, with the ultimate goal of integrating beams of interest into radiotherapy treatment planning systems. This work will contribute to more personalised, more precise brain radiotherapy that better protects neurological functions.
Particular attention will be paid to reducing acquisition time while maintaining sufficient quality for clinical use. Innovative approaches based on artificial intelligence, particularly self-supervised learning, may be explored to reconstruct diffusion data from accelerated acquisitions.
The thesis will also include the development of a standardised treatment and tractography pipeline, with the ultimate goal of integrating beams of interest into radiotherapy treatment planning systems. This work will contribute to more personalised, more precise brain radiotherapy that better protects neurological functions.
Keywords:
Radiotherapy, tractography, brain metastasis, diffusion MRI, optimisation, AI
Department(s):
| Biology, Signals and Systems in Cancer and Neuroscience |