PUFFINS Brain Health Study

Recruiting now

Conditions studied: Cerebral Small Vessel Disease

In brief

Small vessel disease (SVD) is a major cause of stroke and contributor to dementia cases. As work continues to develop new treatments to address the impact of SVD, new imaging techniques are needed to identify and track the progression of brain changes that occur with SVD. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is the gold standard to diagnose poor brain health due to small vessel disease. However, current MRI systems are expensive and complex to operate, and so access is limited. Low-field MRI technology, operating at magnetic field strengths many times lower than conventional MRI, can make brain imaging much more cost-effective and accessible. However, further work is needed to develop low-field MRI towards clinically feasible assessments of brain health. The University of Aberdeen hosts a unique network of researchers and imaging technologies that is now making it possible to test and develop different low-field MRI approaches towards solving key healthcare challenges. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential of two distinct approaches, field-cycling imaging (FCI) and ultra-low field MRI (ULF-MRI), to detect brain changes linked with small vessel disease. Automated methods will be developed to analyse images and extract measurements that detect and track progression of disease severity.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT06947876

Run by

University of Aberdeen

People needed

85

Starts

2025-12-17

Expected to finish

2027-05-01

Last updated by the study team

2026-05-05

Who can join

Age: 50 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Adults ≥ 50 years old.
• Subjects who do not report problems with memory.
• Small vessel disease (Fazekas score 1 to 3).
• Suitable body habitus.
• Able to understand written and spoken English.

You may not qualify if…

• History of major stroke (minor stroke/Transient Ischaemic Attacks or lacunar stroke are acceptable).
• Individuals unable to give informed consent.
• Contra-indications to MRI scanning such as implantable cardiac devices.

Where it is running

• Aberdeen Biomedical Imaging Centre, University of Aberdeen — Aberdeen, United Kingdom (enrolling)
• AMT Center, Univeristy of Aberdeen — Aberdeen, United Kingdom (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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