The 2025 Annual Meeting of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) was recently held in Hawaii, USA. Yueqi Qiu, a Ph.D. candidate from the research group of Professor Zhiyong Zhang at the School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), was awarded the ISMRM Young Investigator Award—specifically the Prince-Meaney Translational Science Award—for her research paper titled "Spatiotemporal Encoding MRI in a Portable Low Field System." The team triumphed over competitors from world-leading institutions, including Stanford University, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) affiliated with Harvard University, becoming the sole recipient of this year’s award. 

Live recording of Yueqi Qiu receiving the ISMRM 2025 Award 

The Prince-Meaney Translational Science Award, one of the three major categories under the ISMRM Young Investigator Award, represents the highest honor in translational research for magnetic resonance (MR) fundamental sciences. Selection involves a rigorous three-stage process: paper review, conference presentation, and final evaluation by an expert panel. The award is granted annually to the most groundbreaking research with significant clinical application potential. Since its establishment in 1994, ISMRM has grown into the largest global academic organization in medical MR, with its annual conference attracting approximately 6,000 experts and scholars from over 100 countries, making it the most influential event in the field. 

ISMRM 2026 Conference Chair (left) presenting the award to Yueqi Qiu 

This marks China’s first achievement of the Prince-Meaney Translational Science Award. The accolade not only highlights SJTU’s leadership in interdisciplinary medical engineering research but also underscores China’s critical advancements in core medical equipment technologies, paving new pathways for the widespread adoption of MR technology. 

The award-winning paper lists Yueqi Qiu, a Ph.D. candidate supervised by Professor Zhiyong Zhang since 2022, as the first author, with Professor Zhang as the sole corresponding author. The research received funding support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission. 

Research Background 

Bedside magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with its portability, procedural safety, and cost-effectiveness, holds significant promise for clinical applications such as stroke diagnosis. However, portable low-field MRI systems utilizing permanent magnets face substantial challenges in main magnetic field (B0) inhomogeneity compared to high-field superconducting systems. While B0 inhomogeneity in high-field systems is typically controlled within 0.1–5 ppm, low-field systems often exhibit inhomogeneity ranging from hundreds to thousands of ppm. 

Portable MRI system and its B0 inhomogeneity distribution. 

Such inhomogeneity induces geometric distortions in echo planar imaging (EPI) along the phase-encoding (PE) direction. Furthermore, the weaker gradient performance of low-field systems amplifies phase accumulation errors in EPI sequences, leading to severe image distortion. Additionally, the limited number of receiver channels in portable low-field MRI systems restricts the use of parallel imaging techniques for phase-encoding step reduction, posing dual challenges: mitigating phase errors from B0 inhomogeneity and addressing the lack of effective artifact correction methods. 

Research Breakthroughs 

The team innovatively developed a spatiotemporal encoding (SPEN) acquisition method tailored for portable systems without multi-channel parallel acceleration. Compared to conventional EPI, undersampled SPEN images demonstrated superior resistance to distortion and fewer artifacts, achieving higher image quality. The team conducted 2D diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) scans of healthy volunteers’ brains and 3D SPEN whole-brain imaging with 2.5 mm resolution within approximately 3 minutes. Results confirmed that SPEN effectively reduces B0 inhomogeneity-induced distortions in portable low-field systems, offering a novel approach for rapid diffusion analysis and expanding the clinical utility of portable MRI. 

Comparison of 3D EPI and 3D SPEN imaging results. 

Comparison of EPI and SPEN diffusion imaging results. 

The team further showcased SPEN’s innovative extensions in their award submission, including SPEN DTI, SPEN RF-encoded imaging, and cross spatio-temporal encoding (xSPEN) techniques for portable MRI systems. These advancements not only advance low-field MR technology but also provide critical technical support for clinical translation. 

Application of cross spatio-temporal encoding (xSPEN) imaging technology. 

Significance and Future Directions 

Professor Zhang’s team has achieved high-quality rapid diffusion imaging in cost-effective portable low-field systems for the first time, delivering a “mobile precision diagnostic tool” for primary care and emergency scenarios. The award committee praised the work as “redefining the clinical applicability of low-field MRI,” with the potential to accelerate global healthcare equity, particularly in remote and emergency settings. 

Currently, the team is collaborating with Professor Fan Jiang’s group at the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center to apply portable low-field MRI and novel imaging techniques to pediatric neurodevelopment studies. In August 2024, the team completed a university-supported technology transfer, establishing Shanghai Zhixiang Medical Technology Co., Ltd., a startup dedicated to developing patient-centered portable MRI systems. 

Moving forward, the team will continue to pioneer interdisciplinary research, integrating SPEN with artificial intelligence and precision medicine to enhance portable MRI’s diagnostic capabilities and advance early intervention and personalized treatments for critical diseases. 

Paper Link:  

Yueqi Qiu, Ke Dai, Sijie Zhong, Suen Chen, Changyue Wang, Hao Chen, Lucio Frydman, Zhiyong Zhang. Spatiotemporal encoding MRI in a portable low-field system. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. 2024; 92: 1011-1021. 

Award Announcement: