Recruiting

4D-MRI

Sponsor:

University of Virginia

Code:

NCT04657042

Conditions

Healthy Volunteers

Liver Cancer

Lung Cancer

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Study Details

Brief summary:

The purpose of this study is to develop new ways to make medical images of the lungs and liver of adults using a technique called four-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (4D-MRI). This technique produces three-dimensional movies of the inside of the chest and abdomen while the patient is breathing. (The fourth dimension is time!)

This new way of medical imaging is being developed to help cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. Radiation therapy is used to treat cancerous tumors. For radiation therapy to be effective, the precise size, shape, and location of the tumor within the body must be known. A particular difficulty for radiation treatment of lung and liver cancer is that the tumor moves during treatment because the patient is breathing. Therefore, tumor motion must also be incorporated into the treatment plan. This study aims to improve radiation treatment planning through better targeting and dose estimation based on 4D-MRI. Before this new imaging method can be used for radiation treatment planning, it must be tested in living, breathing volunteers.

Conditions

Healthy Volunteers

Liver Cancer

Lung Cancer

Study ID

NCT04657042

Start date

Nov 5, 2020

Status verified date

Apr, 2026

Completion date

Dec 31, 2030

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 31, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:The inclusion criteria for lung and liver cancer patients are:

  • Patient is 21 or older
  • Patient has primary or metastatic tumor(s) in the lungs or the liver
  • Diameter of the tumor(s) is less than 7 cm
  • Patient will receive radiation therapy (ordered by the treating Radiation Oncologist) as part of their treatment regimen
  • Patient will undergo a planning CT scan with tumor motion assessment (planning 4D-CT ordered by the treating Radiation Oncologist) as part of their treatment regimen
  • Patient has signed informed consent and is willing to comply with the 4D-MRI imaging protocol

The inclusion criteria for healthy volunteers are:

  • Subject is 18 or older
  • Subject has signed informed consent and is willing to comply with the 4D-MRI imaging protocol

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Any condition for which a MRI procedure is contraindicated including presence of metallic material in the body, such as pacemakers, non- MRI compatible surgical clips, shrapnel, etc.
  • Subjects who have difficulty lying flat on their back for extended periods of time
  • Patients with any serious/poorly controlled medical or psychological conditions that would complicate protocol compliance
  • Too large to adequately fit in the magnet bore or RF coils
  • Claustrophobia
  • Females who are pregnant or lactating
  • Presence of active or chronic infection

Study Design

Enrollment

100 participants

Anticipated

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

Healthy

Healthy volunteers from the local community

Liver cancer

Patients undergoing radiotherapy for liver cancer

Lung cancer

Patients undergoing radiotherapy for lung cancer

Interventions

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Four-dimensional MRI of torso

Primary outcome measure

  • Image quality metrics in healthy volunteers [ Time Frame: single imaging session, lasting up to 2 hours ]
  • Image quality metrics in cancer patients [ Time Frame: single imaging session, lasting up to 2 hours ]
  • DVF errors in healthy volunteers and cancer patients [ Time Frame: single imaging session, lasting up to 2 hours ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Roselove N Nunoo-Asare, MA

4342436074RNN3B@VIRGINIA.EDU

Locations

University of Virginia

Recruiting

Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, 22908

Contacts

Roselove Nunoo-Asare, MA

5402955399rnunoo.asare@gmail.com

More Information

Sponsor

University of Virginia

Last update posted

May 6, 2026

Last verified

Apr, 2026

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Virginia on 2026-05-06.