Download Functional and metabolic imaging of the brain: New perspectives for

Functional and Metabolic Imaging of the Brain: New Perspectives for
Biomedical Imaging, from Physics to Biomedicine
Rolf Grütter
Centre d'Imagerie BioMédicale, Lausanne, Switzerland
This presentation will cover the aspects of modern biomedical imaging as related to the study of
brain function and metabolism. Today's biomedical problems increasingly rely on imaging as a
crucial means to extract non-invasively increasingly precise information from the living tissue. The
comprehensive understanding of the bases and mechanisms leading to characteristic signals
(contrast) requires an approach that critically intertwines basic physics research with engineering
approaches to (bio)chemistry and medical applications. In the context of addressing important
paradigms of neuroscience, such as the role of brain glycogen, the compartmentalized nature of
neurotransmitter metabolism between astrocytes and neurons and glucose metabolism, the
pluridisciplinary approach shall be illustrated and an outlook of the strategic goal of biomedical
imaging initiatives in Switzerland shall be given.