A method for assembling a collaborative research team from multiple disciplines and academic centers to study the relationships between ECG estimation and MRI measurement of myocardial infarct size

A method has been developed for establishing a "University Without Walls" for the purpose of studying the relationship between electrocardiographic estimation and magnetic resonance imaging measurements of myocardial infarct size. The research team includes faculty and students from 4 medical centers, with expertise extending from clinical to technical. Weekly interactive videoconferences provide the key research communication method. Study patients are recruited from 2 of the sites, and the correlations between their electrocardiographic and magnetic resonance imaging data are considered by the research team in conference. Outcomes of this program are both scientific publications in international peer-review journals and formal postdoctoral degree attainment by the research trainees.