The COST Action BM1304 project MYO-MRI (www.myo-mri.eu) held its first Working Group meeting in Milan, from the 16 – 18 May. More than 50 researchers and scientists from across Europe and the US and from a range of disciplines, met in Milan to discuss a variety of topics around neuromuscular imaging. The MYO- MRI project was approved in June 2013 by the BMBS Domain and held its first official Management Committee meeting in December 2013 in Brussels.
The MYO – MRI project will roll out the use of MR techniques by sharing expertise and data, validating protocols across platforms and by exploring the potential of MRI and MRS as a diagnostic tool and as a quantitative outcome measure in NMD clinical trials. Through standardizing the applications of MRI and MRS in NMD, the training of early stage researchers and the development of an online atlas of neuromuscular imaging, the project will enhance the knowledge and expertise of scientists and healthcare professionals and ultimately benefit patients with NMD. MYO – MRI is divided into four Working Groups that will each focus on a related objective. These objectives are: Improve diagnosis and understanding of muscle pathology (WG1); Develop multicentric outcome measures (OMs) (WG2); Explore new contrasts, new targets and new imaging techniques for NMD (WG3) and; Explore strategies for muscle imaging texture analysis (WG4).
The funding that the COST Action MYO – MRI receives from COST supports a range of activities, but predominantly it supports meetings, conferences, workshops, short-term scientific missions, training schools, publications and dissemination activities. The Working Groups meeting in Milan (photo) was the first time that different experts from across Europe and the US were able to get together to share knowledge and experience, discuss the objectives within dedicated Working Group sessions, and plan activities for the next 6 – 12 months. MYO – MRI is governed by a Management Committee, which has overall responsibility to guide activities and manage financial progress of the project, and to ensure aims and objectives are achieved. Currently, 16 COST countries are represented on this Management Committee – Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
