MRI: Collaborative: Development of a novel pediatric magnetoencephalography (MEG) system

“该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。“来自美国国家科学基金会的支持将使波士顿儿童医院（CHB）的Ellen Grant博士和Yoshio Okada博士以及马萨诸塞州总医院（MGH）的马蒂Hämäläinen博士能够开发一种新型脑磁图（MEG）系统babyMEG，该系统针对从早产儿到3岁儿童的人类大脑发育的非侵入性研究进行优化。这种新仪器将在Okada博士的指导下与加利福尼亚州圣地亚哥的一家研发公司（Tristan Technologies）合作开发。数据分析软件将由Hämäläinen博士开发。一旦完成，该仪器将安装在CHB承诺在新生儿和儿科重症监护病房（NICU和PICU）旁边建造的新型临床/研究设施中。本项目的PI（Grant博士）将作为中心主任监督babyMEG在该机构的使用。这个婴儿脑磁图是变革性的，因为它将对人类早期大脑发育的理解产生巨大的影响。用户将能够以前所未有的灵敏度和空间分辨率测量皮层活动：关于发育中大脑真实的区域皮层活动的高分辨率信息将变得可用。这些信息将允许评估开发功能性大脑连接与获得新技能（如语言）的关系，并确定疾病如何改变开发连接。开展这项工作的新研究设施将配备其他神经成像工具，如最先进的3特斯拉MR扫描仪，定制32通道头部线圈和新型近红外光谱（NIRS）系统。因此，babyMEG将成为多模式神经成像设施的一部分。研究中心与NICU和PICU的距离在世界上是独一无二的。这一基础设施将为了解人类大脑在健康和疾病方面的发育提供令人兴奋的机会，并最终帮助最大限度地发挥患有各种大脑疾病的婴儿的潜力。预计NSF的支持将有助于创建一个独特的研究中心，该中心将成为研究，培训和教育的重要中心，不仅在这个国家，而且在世界上。该中心将用于培养博士后研究员，研究生和本科生以及工程和神经科学的初级教师。临床环境中的babyMEG将使基础科学家接触到早期大脑发育的真实的世界问题和问题，并使临床医生接触到基础科学方法的相关性。babyMEG不仅将促进跨学科研究，还将促进多个哈佛机构之间的合作，包括CHB，MGH，MIT和哈佛医学院及其全球合作者。研究生教育的具体好处将集中在培训学生研究科学问题，借鉴三个合作PI和高级教师的建议和指导，他们将与三位主要领导人合作使用该设施。将通过定期的实践教学会议、系列研讨会和公开讲座来促进婴儿脑磁图的使用。

"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)." Support from the National Science Foundation will enable Drs. Ellen Grant and Yoshio Okada at Children's Hospital Boston (CHB) and Dr Matti Hämäläinen at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to develop a novel magnetoencephalography (MEG) system, babyMEG, optimized for the non-invasive study of human brain development from premature babies up to children 3 years old. This new instrument will be developed under the direction of Dr. Okada in collaboration with an R&D company (Tristan Technologies) in San Diego, CA. The software for data analysis will be developed by Dr. Hämäläinen. Once completed, the instrument will be installed in a novel clinical/research facility that CHB has committed to build next to the Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units (NICU and PICU). The PI of this project (Dr. Grant) will oversee the use of the babyMEG in this facility as its Center Director. This babyMEG is transformative because it will have a tremendous impact on the understanding of early brain development in humans. Users will be able to measure cortical activity with an unprecedented level of sensitivity and spatial resolution: high-resolution information about regional cortical activity in real time in the developing brain will become available. This information will allow evaluation of developing functional brain connectivity with acquisition of new skills such as language and determination of how developing connectivity is altered by disease. The new research facility where this work will be carried out will be equipped with other neuroimaging tools such as a state-of-the-art 3 Tesla MR scanner with custom-built 32-channel head coils and a novel Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) system. Thus, the babyMEG will be part of a multimodal neuroimaging facility. The proximity of the research center to the NICU and PICU is unique in the world. This infrastructure will provide exciting opportunities for understanding human brain development in health and disease and for eventually helping to maximize the potential of babies with various brain disorders. It is anticipated that the support from the NSF will help to create a unique research center that will become an important hub for research, training and education not only in this country, but also in the world. The center will be used for training of postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students as well junior faculty from engineering and neuroscience. The babyMEG in the clinical environment will expose basic scientists to the real world problems and questions of early brain development and clinicians to the relevance of basic science methods. The babyMEG will promote not only interdisciplinary research but also collaboration between multiple Harvard institutions including CHB, MGH, MIT and Harvard Medical School as well as their collaborators worldwide. Specific benefits to graduate education will focus on training students to research scientific questions drawing on advice and guidance from the three co-PIs and senior faculty members who will be using the facility in collaboration with the three key leaders. Use of the babyMEG will be promoted through regular hands-on teaching sessions, seminar series and public lectures.