FOCUS

Focus on the MRI facility staff

What is our mission?

Our mission at the Human Neuroscience Platform (HNP) is to provide an integrative framework that allows the neuroscience research community to better understand how the normal brain works but also how the pathological brain dysregulates. Indeed, neurological and psychiatric disorders are a major public health issue, as they are difficult to treat and affect the daily lives of patients and their families.

Within the HNP, the MRI Facility is committed to high-risk and high-yield studies in human neuroscience. Such studies have strong technological, methodological, and/or analytical components. Our aim is to provide its users with equipment at the forefront of the technology and assist them with skilled and trained personnel that can exploit the functionalities at their full extent.

Meet the MRI team

Dr. Roberto Martuzzi joined the FCBG in September 2014 to create and manage the MRI facility. He provides users with technical support for the correct use of the equipment of the MRI facility and advice to help them in the correct design of their study.

He is interested in integrating MRI acquisitions with other stimulation or imaging modalities. 

Click here for an updated list of R. Martuzzi’s publications

Dr. Olivier Reynaud joined the FCBG Human Neuroscience Platform as Engineer Physicist in April 2018. He manages the Neuromodulation Facility dedicated to non-invasive brain stimulation. Within the MRI facility, he provides support for advanced MR protocols, MR physics and multimodal projects. Additional skills involve MR sequence development, RF pulse design, image reconstruction, data analysis, microstructure modeling or 3D design.

He is particularly interested in combining non-invasive brain stimulation with neuroimaging and is actively involved the implementation and optimization of concurrent TMS-fMRI.

Click here for an updated list of O. Reynaud’s publications

Loan Mattera joined the HNP in October 2015 as MRI technologist.

Before joining the FCBG, she worked for more than 10 years as MRI technologist in clinical settings.

Her roles include assuring the correct acquisition of MRI data as well as optimizing the acquisition sequences. Within the HNP, she also serves as Medical Assistant (Blood test, first aids …) and EEG technologist.

Nathalie Philippe joined the HNP in 2021 as an MRI and EEG technologist.

She has worked for more than 10 years in CT scanning and Radiology in hospitals.

Her roles include assuring patient safety, and correct acquisition of MRI data. At the HNP, she also works as a medical assistant (taking blood samples, etc.) and EEG technologist.

What can we do for you?

Our staff has a multidisciplinary background and strong publications records which allow us to fully understand the researchers’ needs and to support the users throughout the entire project. We continuously keep all devices fully operational, and we have created an integrated environment where the researchers can find all they need without worrying about the connection among the devices. Upon the researchers’ need, we can also provide counsel and assistance in the different steps of the research project, such as design and coding of the experimental setup, optimization of the imaging protocols, and support to data analysis. The facility MR technologists not only grant that the acquisition process runs smoothly but also offer invaluable support in dealing with patients, kids, or elderly participants, making the acquisition of high-quality data possible in every experimental setup.

Take a look inside the MRI facility

Our MRI facility is equipped with cutting-edge technology. Our 3T Siemens Healthineers Prisma system is fitted out with high end audio-visual and tactile stimulation devices. The arrival of the 7T Siemens Healthineers MAGNETOM Terra system will enable researchers to refine their studies in terms of resolution or investigate new areas of research, such as parallel imaging, MR Spectroscopy or layer fMRI. In the end, users will be able to choose the scanner which is the best fit to respond to their research questions.

Upon recording, MR images can be streamed out to our computers for real-time analysis and biofeedback purposes. Taking advantage from our multicenter collaborations and partnership with Siemens Healthineers, the set of available MRI sequences is continuously updated with the installation of third-party sequences.

Why limit yourself to MRI? Combine it with other neuroscience techniques

Thanks to the strong collaborations with the other HNP facilities, our staff is fully skilled to conduct multi-modal imaging experiments with ease or teach and help you acquire those skills.

Users can then combine MRI imaging with electroencephalography (EEG) recordings or with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial electrical stimulation (tES). They can also design their experimental protocols within a Virtual Reality (VR) framework where the participant’s movement is continuously tracked and transferred in real-time to the avatar displayed on MR-compatible stereoscopic goggles.

In addition, the collaboration with the FCBG workshop and with the HEPIA allows us to develop new tools or to adapt the existing ones to fulfill the needs of every research study.

The MRI team is looking forward to installing the new 7T Siemens Healthineers MAGNETOM Terra MRI scanner at Campus Biotech.

Come in, we’re open!

We are located within the heart of the Lemanic neuroscience community and open to the entire community of researchers. The Campus Biotech ecosystem is designed to foster the collaboration across all the partners, and we have strong collaborations with members of all the different institutions hosted at Campus Biotech, such as the EPFL, the UNIGE, the HUG, the CIBM, the Wyss Center, and the HEPIA. But our network is wider and goes beyond Campus Biotech. We also work with other institutions such as the Wallis hospital and the University of Fribourg, and we had conducted a few studies for private companies. With the installation of the new Terra system, we are also establishing a strong partnership with Siemens Healthineers.