Cape Town - 2026 ISMRM-ISMRT Annual Meeting and Exhibition - MRI in Africa: Advancing Neuroimaging Research, Capacity, and Equity in African Populations

MRI in Africa: Advancing Neuroimaging Research, Capacity, and Equity in African Populations

Digital Poster

Neuro B

Tuesday, 12 May 2026

Digital Posters Row J

08:20 - 09:15

Session Number: 469-01

No CME/CE Credit

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This session highlights neuroimaging initiatives across Africa, spanning clinical practice surveys, protocol harmonization, capacity building, and population-specific brain modeling. Contributions address brain aging, neurodevelopment, perfusion, and cerebral hemodynamics, emphasizing equitable research, local relevance, and methodological innovation in diverse African clinical and socio-economic contexts.

		469-01-001. The MIRACLE Survey: MRI Radiologists’ Insights into African Clinical and Research Landscape Evaluation Anthonia Ikpeme, Adesola Adepoju, Christian Emery, Abiola Ayodele, Adaobi Emegoakor, Akanimoh Ekpe, Johnes Obungoloch, Klenam Dzefi-Tettey, Mary Kamuzora, Obianuju Odok, Winifred Daniel, Iris Asllani, Godwin Ogbole, Nivedita Agarwal University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria Impact: The study identifies training, funding, and institutional support as critical factors for enhancing MRI research engagement and clinical application across Africa. The findings can inform strategies to build sustainable and collaborative MRI research capacity.
		469-01-002. Practice Variability and Emerging Consensus in Glioma MRI Protocols In Africa: A Supplementary Report from the ABTIP Project Ugumba Kwikima, Sekinat Zurakat-Aderibigbe , Juhi Tulsi, Adaobi Emegoakor, Nourou Dine Bankole, Marion Smits, Jeannette Parkes, Mariam Aboian, Jeff Rudie, Vera Keil, Gabriel Babatunde, Nancy Ojo, Omolola Mojisola Atalabi, Olubukola Omidiji, Fatade Abiodun, Marina Fernández-García, Udunna Anazodo Muhimbili Orthopedic & Neursurgery Institute, Dar es salaam, Tanzania Impact: This study delivers the first continental overview of glioma MRI practices in Africa, forming the foundation for the Africa Brain Tumour Imaging Protocol (ABTIP) to promote standardised imaging, capacity building, and equitable integration of African centres into global neuro-oncology research.
		469-01-003. Developing Brain Age Models for Predicting Pathological Brain Aging in African Population Tolulope Olusuyi, Jasmine Cakmak, Oumayma Soula, Raymond Confidence, Ayomide Oladele, Charity Umoren, Ifeoluwa Oladeji, Gamaliel Adebayo, Anu Gbadamosi, Farouk Dako, Abbas Rabiu, Suwaid Mohammed, Rachel Akinola, Anyanwu Benjamin, Chinedum Anosike, Jasmit Shah, Reza Rajabli, James Cole, Chinedu Udeh-Momoh, Louis Collins, Fatade Abiodun, Maruf Adewole, Udunna Anazodo Medical Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MAI Lab), Lagos, Nigeria Impact: This population-specific model is a step towards African brain age models. With the availability of datasets through the Africa Neuroimaging Archive (AfNiA), this study will develop tools to identify individuals with accelerated brain aging for early intervention in at-risk patients.
		469-01-004. Echoes Beyond the Scanner: An Evolving Journey of the ESMRMB Podcast, Now Resonating in Cape Town Moss Zhao, Aja Zou, Daniel Christopher Hoinkiss, Melanie Bauer, Hendrik Mattern, Sanam Assili, Patricia Clement, Joana Pinto, Ozlem Ipek, Andreea Hertanu, Beatrice Lena, Roy Haast Stanford University, Stanford, United States of America Impact: This initiative establishes a global platform for MRI-focused dialogue, uniting early-career researchers, clinicians, and patients. It advances inclusive science communication, fosters multi-disciplinary collaboration, and creates a sustainable framework for public engagement, education, and patient-oriented research.
		469-01-005. Capacity Building for Reproducible ASL Perfusion Quantification in an African Cohort Channelle Tham, Harrison Aduluwa, Oumayma Soula, Tolulope Olusuyi, Victor Eze-Chukwuebuka, Rachael Aninwigwe, Danny Wang, Oluwateniola Akinwale, Cristian Montalba, Surendra Maharjan, Francis Botwe, Abderrazek Zeraii, Isaac Tigbee, Abraham Awamba, Alaa Bessadok, Jeremiah Daniel, Bilkisu Farouk, Ernest Darko, Bankole Happiness, Said Said, Maruf Adewole, Mahmoud Mania, Chinedu Udeh-Momoh, Toyobo Oluyemisi, Fatade Abiodun, Matthias Fridreich, Chinedum Anosike, Anyanwu Benjamin, Ethan Draper, Abdalla Mohamed, Udunna Anazodo Medical Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MAI Lab), Lagos, Nigeria Impact: This study enables reproducible ASL quantification to advance reliable CBF measurement in resource-constrained settings. By standardizing analysis pipelines through a training program, we strengthen neuroimaging capacity in these settings, enabling clinical translation and participation in global, open and accessible research.
		469-01-006. Early Cerebral Development and Socio-Economic Determinants in Ethiopian Children Sarah Jensen, Firehiwot Abate, Kalkidan Yebital, Terrie Inder, Yumin Kim, Krysten North, Theresa Chin, Nebiyou Fasil, Yemane Berhane, Anne CC Lee Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, United States of America Impact: We characterize early cerebral development in Ethiopian children aged 6 to 24 months. We show that higher maternal education links to larger corpus callosum volume, underscoring the critical role of early-life social determinants for pediatric neurological development in Sub-Saharan Africa.
		469-01-007. The impact of enhanced nutrition and infection management on early childhood neurodevelopment in rural Ethiopia Firehiwot Abate, Krysten North, Kalkidan Yebital, Nebiyou Fasil, Yumin Kim, Theresa Chin, Unmesha Paladhi, Atsede Teklehaymanot, Sarah Jensen, Yemane Berhane, Anne CC Lee Addis Continental Institute of Public Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Impact: This study shows that improving mother's nutrition and managing infections during pregnancy can strengthen children’s early brain development. The findings help scientists to test integrated prenatal care approaches and explore biological and environmental links between maternal health and child development.
		469-01-008. Mapping Abnormal Cerebral Hemodynamics in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease Using an Innovative BOLD fMRI Approach Jessica Budde, Brianna Kish, Ying Wang, Yunjie Tong Purdue University, West Lafayette, United States of America Impact: Sickle cell disease is a genetic disorder accompanied by abnormal hemodynamics and primarily affects individuals of African descent. This work establishes the first fMRI-based method to visualize cerebrovascular shunting, enabling noninvasive detection of vascular dysfunction for early diagnosis and intervention.
		469-01-009. From Structure to Function: Predicting Cognitive Risk using Ultra-Low-Field MRI Measured Brain Structure Volumes Kirsten Donald, Victoria Nankabirwa, Maclean Vokhiwa, Austin Tapp, Rahimeh Rouhi, Jeffrey Tanedo, Lauryn Stafford, Jamie Steinmetz, Niall Bourke, Laurel Gabard-Durnam, Joshua Proctor, Emmanuela Gakidou, Steven Williams, Sean Deoni, Natasha Lepore, Marius Linguraru, Krithika Iyer Red Cross War Memorial Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa Impact: Combining portable ultra-low-field MRI structural volumes with growth/demographic measures enables accurate, scalable early cognitive-risk screening in low-resource settings, bridging access gaps and informing intervention when it is most efficient.
		469-01-010. Report on a 2-week low-field MRI build in Cape Town, South Africa Stephen Jermy, Chris-Jasper Jooste, Frances Robertson, Kian Frassek, Liam Truter, Bonga Njamela, David Roth, Queto Jenkins, Mark Blumenthal, Andy Buffler, James Keaveney, Tom Leadbeater, Sampath Jayalath, Gideon Wiid, Andrew Wilkinson, Kirsten Donald, Graham Fieggen, Sally Rothemeyer, Leon Janse van Rensburg, Christoph Trauernicht, Andre van der Kouwe, Teresa Guallart Naval, Joseba Alonso, Andrew Webb, Ernesta Meintjes University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa Impact: A low-field MRI scanner was built during a 2-week workshop using locally-sourced and produced components as well as off-the-shelf high-tech components, demonstrating the first steps towards a viable LFMRI using open-source designs.
		469-01-011. Building MRI Capacity Through Open-Source Hardware and Hands-On Training: The IMAGINE Summer School Marina Fernández-García, Haile Kassahun, Nayebare Maureen, Guillermo Sahonero-Alvarez, Sipan Hovsepian, Timon Machtelinckx, Ihssene Brahimi, Pedram Yazdanbakhsh, Ali Akbarzadeh-Sharbaf, Raymond Confidence, Maruf Adewole, Osama Abdullah, Johnes Obungoloch, Stefan du Plessis, Udunna Anazodo Institute for Molecular Imaging and Instrumentation (i3M), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas & Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain Impact: The IMAGINE Summer School demonstrated that open-source, low-cost MRI systems can be collaboratively built and replicated across continents, advancing sustainable imaging education and technical capacity in resource-limited settings. A GitHub repository contains all the necessary information to replicate the scanner.
		469-01-012. Comparison of a Novel and Conventional Open-source Gradient Coil Design and their Artefacts for a Halbach-based Low-field MRI Liam Truter, Stephen Jermy, Chris-Jasper Jooste, Ernesta Meintjes University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa Impact: Conjugate phase reconstruction alone couldn’t correct all distortions in both coilsets, highlighting the need to explore alternative techniques to provide diagnostic-quality images in open-source low-field systems to increase their viability for addressing the healthcare divide in LMICs like South Africa.
		469-01-013. Continued Development of a point-of-care low-field MRI scanner Chris-Jasper Jooste, Stephen Jermy, Kian Frassek, Liam Truter, David Roth, Queto Jenkins, Andrew Webb, Ernesta Meintjes University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa Impact: This abstract presents the continued development of a low field MRI scanner. Hardware solutions to reduce electromagnetic interference (EMI) and improve signal strength are demonstrated, with a focus on noise identification and elimination, passive shielding implementation, and receive chain optimization.
		469-01-014. MRI in Clinical Practice: Diagnosis & Management Insights from ultra-Low-Field Brain MRI in a Low-Resource Hospital in Malawi Maclean Vokhiwa, Frederik Lange, Karen Chetcuti, Jessica Chikwana, Saidon Banda, Pip Torelli, Derek Jones, Steven Williams, Sean Deoni, Nicola Pitchford, Lauren Cohee, Kamija Phiri, Eric Umar, Unity Consortium Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi Impact: Ultra-low-field MRI (64mT) enabled neuroimaging at a Malawian referral hospital, detecting pathology in 86% of 14 consecutive cases. MRI findings directly influenced diagnosis, triage, and treatment where conventional MRI was unavailable, demonstrating scalable, equitable neuroimaging access in low-resource clinical care.
		469-01-015. The Invisible Crisis: How Field Service Engineering Gaps Limit MRI Access in Sub-Saharan Africa Zaphanlene Kaffey, Mercy Shandorf, Kgalaletso Motlhabane, Kone Cheick Ahmed, Abdul Nashirudeen Mumuni The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, United States of America Impact: Identifies systemic field service engineering workforce gaps as a critical barrier to MRI access in Sub-Saharan Africa, demonstrating that inadequate local training infrastructure and foreign technician dependency create prolonged equipment downtime despite available hardware.
		469-01-016. AI in MRI: Tunisian MRI practitioners’ Perspectives on Adoption, Education, and Accountability Nader Gharbia, Yasmine Saad, Aymen Kammoun, Kays Cheker, Yassine Nouira La rabta hospital, Tunis, Tunisia Impact: AI is reshaping MRI worldwide, yet its success depends on human acceptance. By uncovering radiographers’ hopes, doubts, and readiness in Tunisia, this study paves the way for education, policy, and collaboration to bridge the gap between innovation and real-world adoption.