Quantum physics to advance the future of MRI

The project aims to develop a new type of MRI technology that combines quantum sensors with conventional MRI imaging, making it possible to observe biological processes in the body at a much higher resolution than is currently achievable.

MRI is an important tool for investigating living tissue, but current technology cannot capture changes at the cellular and molecular levels, which are central to, among other things, cancer, inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases. With the new method, known as QuantuMRI, researchers will be able to read out biological signals such as temperature, pH and ion concentration deep within tissue - and link this information to MRI images.

“The aim is to develop an entirely new imaging platform that can provide us with far more precise information about tissue structure and metabolism. In the long term, this may lead to earlier and more accurate diagnosis,” says Sune Jespersen.

The grant comes from the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Synergy Programme 2025 and the project is being carried out in collaboration with researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and the Instituto Balseiro in Argentina and will run for four years. The researchers hope that, in the longer term, the technology will contribute to a better understanding of disease and more targeted treatments.

You can read more about the grant at the CFIN webpage.

Contact

Professor Sune Jespersen
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine - Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience (CFIN)
Telephone: +45 60 89 66 42
Email: sune@cfin.au.dk