Cape Town - 2026 ISMRM-ISMRT Annual Meeting and Exhibition

Pediatric Imaging Frontiers

Power Pitch

Pediatrics

Tuesday, 12 May 2026

Power Pitch Theatre 2

08:20 - 09:56

Moderators: Christopher Filippi & Mary Kate Manhard

Session Number: 452-01

No CME/CE Credit

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This session showcases high quality pediatric MRI research covering varying anatomy and the spectrum of pediatric disorders. Included works explore advances in sequence design, image analysis, and technical updates.

Skill Level: Intermediate

08:20		452-01-001. Pediatric brain volumetry with SynthSeg: segmentation accuracy and influence of scan resolution and age Rahel Heule, Ruth O'Gorman Tuura University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland Impact: SynthSeg is powerful tool to segment arbitrary MR contrasts, but exhibits a bias in WM and cortical GM volumes for T2-weighted data acquired in children in comparison to the standard pipeline of Freesurfer, which is based on T1-weighted data.
08:22		452-01-002. A multi-atlas label fusion algorithm for neonatal Anatomically-Constrained Tractography Manuel Blesa Cábez, Paola Galdi, David Batty, Mark Bastin, Robert Smith, James Boardman Institute for Neuroscience and Cardiovascular Research, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom Impact: We present an algorithm that makes performing Anatomically Constrained Tractography on neonatal data accessible to the research community, applicable to both T1 and T2-weighted images. The code will be integrated in a future update of the MRtrix3 software.
08:24		452-01-003. Fetal SAR Variation Induced by Realistic Fetal Motion Filiz Yetisir, Neel Dey, Ilias Giannakopoulos, Georgy Guryev, Esra Abaci Turk, Adi Titelman Ashkenazy, Riccardo Lattanzi, Jacob White, Polina Golland, Elfar Adalsteinsson, Patricia Grant Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States of America Impact: Estimations of fetal tissue heating during MRI can vary considerably due to realistic fetal motion. Therefore, fetal motion should be accounted for when evaluating the safety of new technologies for imaging pregnant subjects that can alter RF energy deposition patterns.
08:26		452-01-004. Multi-BOUNTI: Multi-lobe Brain vOlUmetry and segmeNtation for feTal and neonatal MRI Alena Uus, Abi Fukami-Gartner, Vanessa Kyriakopoulou, Daniel Cromb, Taeona Morgan, Sophie Arulkumaran, Aysha Luis, Roos Bos, Antonis Makropoulos, Andreas Schuh, Emma Robinson, Maria Deprez, Lucilio Cordero-Grande, Jonathan O'Muircheartaigh, Alexia Egloff Collado, Kathleen Colford, Daniel Rueckert, Serena Counsell, Jana Hutter, Grainne McAlonan, Tomoki Arichi, David Edwards, Jo Hajnal, MARY RUTHERFORD, Lisa Story King's College London, London, United Kingdom Impact: Multi-BOUNTI provides the first unified deep learning solution for fetal–neonatal regional brain volumetry. It will enable large-scale normative analysis, support clinical research studies in prematurity and developmental disorders, and improve translation of perinatal MRI toward precision neurodevelopmental assessment.
08:28		452-01-005. Differentiation of Diffuse Midline Glioma from other HGGs using Quantitative Perfusion Parameters and Machine Learning Anshika Kesari, Rakesh Kumar Gupta, Anup Singh Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India Impact: This study establishes quantitative DCE-MRI perfusion parameters as reliable non-invasive biomarkers for distinguishing DMG from other high-grade gliomas, offering critical diagnostic support, particularly when tissue sampling is contraindicated and enabling more personalized treatment strategies in pediatric neuro-oncology.
08:30		452-01-006. Hippocampal Development and Genetic Differential Susceptibility Drive Transgenerational Transmission of Anxiety Yunying Huang, Shi Yu Chan, Pei Huang, Zhen Ming Ngoh, Aisleen M.A. Manahan, Joanne S.M. Chia, Jasmine Chuah, Juan Helen Zhou, Yap Seng Chong, Helen Chen, Marielle Fortier, Irina Pokhvisnev, Patricia Silveira, Michael Meaney, Ai Peng Tan Institute for Human Development & Potential, ASTAR Research Entities, Singapore, Singapore Impact:* This study advances understanding of how prenatal maternal anxiety shapes offspring brain development by identifying the hippocampus as a key mediator and demonstrating that genetic susceptibility moderates this pathway, offering new insights for precision prevention in youth mental health.
08:32		452-01-007. Investigating Iron Dysregulation and Homocysteine Correlation in Autism via Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping Xueyan Liu, Meiying Cheng, Xin Zhao The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China Impact: The study confirms that brain iron content is associated with autism severity, and quantitative susceptibility mapping shows potential as an objective imaging biomarker for assessing disease severity and treatment efficacy.
08:34		452-01-008. Charting brain physiological asymmetry during childhood with high-resolution pCASL perfusion MRI Wentao Wu, Minhui Ouyang, Ziqin Zhang, Manuel Taso, Marta Vidorreta, John Detre, Hao Huang Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, United States of America Impact: This study charts the brain physiological asymmetry during childhood for the first time. Acquired high-resolution pCASL perfusion MRI at isotropic 2mm highlights the asymmetry findings of cerebellum with much smaller sizes compared to cerebrum.
08:36		452-01-009. Seeing beyond words: task-dependent causal alterations of the visuo-attentional network revealed in developmental dyslexia Gökçe KORKMAZ, Roberta Lorenzi, Tea Tucic, Milica Stribacki, Valentina Lampis, Denis Peruzzo, Filippo Arrigoni, Doris Pischedda, Egidio D’Angelo, Fulvia Palesi, Sara Mascheretti, Claudia Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy Impact: This study identifies disrupted cortico-cerebellar communication as a core network feature of developmental dyslexia. Linking altered magnocellular dynamics to attentional and reading abilities highlights mechanistic pathways underlying symptom variability and points toward potential biomarkers for more individualised assessment and intervention.
08:38		452-01-010. Neurometabolite and immune alterations in children with perinatal HIV exposure: associations with language outcomes Cesc Bertran Cobo, Frances Robertson, Simone Williams, Tusekile Sarah Kangwa, Jenna Annandale, Jessica Ringshaw, Layla Bradford, Nadia Hoffman, Heather Zar, Dan Stein, Kirsten Donald, Petrus Naudé, Catherine Wedderburn University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa Impact: Perinatal HIV exposure may alter the relationship between the immune system and brain development through childhood, with implications for neurodevelopmental outcomes. Understanding these neuroimmune and neurodevelopmental alterations may clarify how perinatal HIV exposure influences language outcomes in children.
08:40		452-01-011. New Age-Dependent Relaxation Times for Pediatric MRS at 3 T Saipavitra Murali-Manohar, Abdelrahman Gad, Zahra Shams, Yulu Song, Gizeaddis Simegn, Aaron Gudmundson, Helge Zöllner, Christopher Davies-Jenkins, Dunja Simicic, Vivek Yedavalli, Mary Beth Nebel, Georg Oeltzschner, Richard AE Edden Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States of America Impact: We report significant metabolite relaxation changes with age in a pediatric cohort at 3T. Our new age-dependent relaxation times of metabolites will support reliable quantification of pediatric brain metabolites at 3 T, particularly in the on-going longitudinal HBCD MRS study.
08:42		452-01-012. Early Prediction of Cerebral Palsy in Infants 6 to 24 Months Old from Conventional MRI with Dual Path Deep Learning Zhen Jia, Man Li, Tingting Huang, Yitong Bian, Tianjiao Chen, Xianjun Li, Feng Shi, jian Yang The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China Impact: Enables early CP diagnosis using routine MRI, providing a clinically translatable tool for timely intervention in infants with complex white matter injuries.
08:44		452-01-013. Pediatric-only AI-Assisted Detection of Focal Cortical Dysplasia Lesions: External Validation of the MELD-Graph Pipeline Andrea Dell'Orco, Enrico De Vita, Felice D'Arco, Lena-Luise Becker, Mike Wattjes, Anna Tietze Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany Impact: The MELD-Graph pipeline shows potential to support radiologists by improving lesion detection while maintaining a low false-positive burden. This may facilitate earlier diagnosis and streamline presurgical planning in pediatric epilepsy.
08:46		452-01-014. Novel lung MRI for personalised computational models of ventilation distribution in children Megan Soo, Taylor Emsden, Paul Condron, Daniel Cornfeld, Leigh Potter, Merryn Tawhai, Ho-Fung Chan Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand Impact: Computational physiology lung models informed by novel lung MRI biomarkers could facilitate personalised management of chronic lung diseases in children. Our MRI-based models can predict ventilation distribution and have the potential to longitudinally monitor paediatric respiratory health.
08:48		452-01-015. Advancing equitable paediatric imaging through indigenous and community partnership – multi-organ MRI and longitudinal model Leigh Potter, Ho-Fung Chan, Eryn Kwon, Julie Choisne, Haribalan Kumar, Paul Condron, Taylor Emsden, Megan Soo, Daniel Cornfeld, Thor Besier, Debbie Zhao, Martyn Nash, Samantha Holdsworth, Ayah Elsayed Mātai Medical Research Institute, Gisborne, New Zealand Impact: This study demonstrates that advanced multiorgan MRI can be achieved within a indigenous and community-based framework in rural Aotearoa. It establishes baseline developmental metrics for Māori and regional children, enabling equitable longitudinal assessment of growth using reproducible, child-centred MRI workflows.