Lloyd Plumart








Structural MRI-based assessment of the visual pathways in late-stage glaucoma

In October 2023, I joined the Laboratory of Experimental Ophthalmology at the University Medical Center Groningen. There, prof. Frans Cornelissen and dr. Hinke Halbertsma are guiding me through my 3-year PhD adventure as my supervisors, while dr. Mayra Bittencourt provides me with day-to-day supervision. My journey extends beyond Groningen as I will also gain experience from two secondments. For 1 year, I will be able to explore the benefits and challenges of using the new ultra-high-field Siemens MAGNETOM Terra.X MRI scanner at the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg under the supervision of prof. Michael Hoffmann. Finally, I will stay at the Royal Dutch Visio for one month to work on visual field reconstruction using a novel dynamic visual field test under the supervision of Anne Vrijling.

Click here to read more about my project!

Personal Background and Interest

I spent the first 23 years of my life in Bruges, Belgium. In September 2023, I graduated with a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering with a specialization in Neuro-Engineering at Ghent University. The main focus of this master’s program was to hone my skills in medical imaging, more specifically PET imaging and structural MRI. The mathematically advanced nature of this program allowed me to discover the fundamental concepts underlying these imaging modalities. Previous software engineering and data science internships helped me grow as an engineer and as an independent researcher. My plan is to continue contributing to research to the best of my ability.

Aim of the project

The aim of the project is to get a better understanding of the structural changes occurring in the brains of people with advanced glaucoma. This will be assessed using diffusion weighted imaging (DWI). The location, direction, and speed at which axons degenerate in the brain can be quantified using this imaging technique and will give us insights into the underlying mechanisms of neuronal degeneration in glaucoma. Understanding how the brain reacts to a pathology like glaucoma will be crucial when developing and assessing the efficacy of neuroregenerative medicine.

Output (Publications and Awards)

  • Integrating along-tract profiling with fixel-based analysis for tract-specific characterization of white matter (submitted)

 

  • Presentation Award DOPS 2024- Travel Grant ARVO
  • Best Power Pitch Award IST 2025

Current activities/Accomplishments

In the lab of Groningen, we have been developing novel techniques that allow for spatial neurodegeneration profiling to accurately portray the progression of glaucoma in the brain along specific pathways. Concretely, we have developed an along-tract degeneration profiling technique and an optic nerve cross-section mapping technique to visualize degeneration along the primary visual pathway. Additionally, we are working on understanding degeneration in complex white matter structures, such as converging fibers and crossing fibers. These methods showcase a clear visualization and quantification of neurodegeneration in the primary visual pathway that are more intuitive to interpret and analyze than conventional DWI analysis methods currently do. 

During my secondment in Magdeburg, I am working together with prof. Michael B. Hoffmann to apply the methods developed in Groningen to a high-resolution dataset using the 7T Terra.X scanner. This allows us to perform individualized analysis per patient and relate the observed degeneration to their visual field loss.