Consortium

Medical University of Vienna, founded in 1365 as a Medical Faculty of the University of Vienna, is one of the most traditional medical education and research facilities in Europe. With almost 8,000 students, it is currently the largest medical training centre in the German-speaking countries. With 6,000 employees, 30 departments and two clinical institutes, 13 medical theory centres and numerous highly specialised laboratories, it is also one of Europe's leading research establishments in the biomedical sector. MedUni Vienna consistently strives to attract the brightest minds in order to further medical research, impart forward-thinking knowledge and ensure the best possible and most advanced care for patients.

The Bergmann Lab at the NeuroImaging Center (NIC).

The Neuroimaging Center (NIC) of the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz integrates state-of-the-art multimodal non-invasive neuroimaging and neurostimulation techniques, including two 3T MRI scanners, as well as fully equipped neurostimulation and psychophysiological laboratories. Correlative MRI, fMRI, EEG, and simultaneous EEG-fMRI approaches are complemented by causal neuromodulation techniques such as neuronavigated transcranial magnetic (TMS), electrical (tES) and ultrasonic (TUS) stimulation. A particular methodological focus of the Bergmann Lab is on the automation and integration of neurostimulation with neuroimaging techniques, such as simultaneous TMS-fMRI, real-time brain state-dependent closed-loop TMS-EEG, and robotic TMS and TUS. The group also develops and disseminates open-source software and hardware solutions to automate multimodal neurostimulation/neuroimaging experiments. Data analysis is supported by in-house analysis servers and access to the university's high-performance computer.

The DRCMR is one of the leading research centres in Europe within the field of biomedical MRI. A highly profiled international research team translates the latest advances in MRI to examine the brain's function, metabolism and structure. The DRCMR is part of Copenhagen University Hospital Amager and Hvidovre, and is legally part of the Capital Region Denmark.

The Supercomputing Technologies group at the Faculty of Information Technology, Brno University of Technology focuses on the architecture and implementation of high performance computing systems, their operation and energy efficiency. The group specializes in the design and development of highly optimized algorithms, communication overhead reduction and scalability. The group's principal application is the k-Wave toolbox for tissue realistic simulation of ultrasound wave propagation.

Localite GmbH, a private held company founded in 2001 by former researchers from Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology, develops and distributes medical assistance systems. The product portfolio is focused on navigation systems for brain researchers and clinical TMS users. The company is located in Bonn, Germany and maintains a well-established distribution network to provide solutions to researchers and clinicians in more than 30 countries. It is Localite’s mission to take part in leading-edge research activities and transfer findings into down-to-earth products for health care professionals. Therefore, in CITRUS the Localite team will adapt its navigation platform to the to-be-developed MR coils with integrated TFUS transducers as well as support new workflows taking advantage of K-Plan based stimulation planning.

Starting with theoretical studies using application-specific simulations, development of transducers and modular ultrasound systems including innovative software solutions, right up to signal processing, the department Ultrasound of the Fraunhofer IBMT covers the whole range of competences for system solutions in medical, biotechnological and technical applications. With more than 40 members of staff in three business areas, and five highly specialized working groups, it is one of the largest ultrasound research units in Europe. The competences of the working groups are based on more than 25 years of experience, and allow the development of all ultrasound system components, from materials with specially adapted properties, to application-specific ultrasound transducers, electronic system components and procedures, as well as software development, right up to sensor manufacturing and process development. Services range from consulting and feasibility studies to laboratory prototypes and prototype development, right up to certified product development, certification for clinical applications as well as clinical evaluation.

Radboud University is the best traditional, general university of the Netherlands, situated on a green campus south of the Nijmegen city centre. Our university wants to contribute to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all.

The Biomedical Ultrasound Group at the Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering Department of University College London (UCL) was formed in 2013 to bring together researchers in acoustics, medical physics, and computer science with clinicians and front-line users in medicine and the life sciences. The group currently comprises fifteen full-time research staff and PhD students, with expertise and active research extending from physical acoustics and numerical modelling, through to ultrasound metrology, ultrasonic and optical instrumentation, and in vivo experimentation. The group is world leading in the development of advanced computer models which can predict how ultrasound waves propagate in the human body (open-source acoustics toolbox). These models have many applications in therapeutic and diagnostic ultrasound, including imaging, treatment planning, image reconstruction, and hardware design. To complement this, the group also has a focus on ultrasound metrology, including the development of measurement techniques and the characterization of complex ultrasound sources. These two research areas feed into our work on the development of hardware for ultrasound imaging and therapy.