A High-Performance 3T MRI Scanner for Brain Imaging

项目总结/文摘

Project Summary/Abstract The national emphasis on improving the understanding of our brains (e.g. the BRAIN initiative, the Human Connectome Project) has pushed brain imaging to the forefront of scientific research. The inherent advantages of high resolution and noninvasiveness have made magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) one of the predominent methods for brain research in humans. We are among the leaders in developing innovative MRI methodologies and applying them to investigate the working mechanisms of the human brain. Through a two-year collaboration with GE Healthcare, and funded by our institutional funds, we successfully co- developed and installed a state-of-the-art prototype 3T MRI that has a high-power torque-balanced gradient coil, high-channel-count RF arrays with GE's AIR TechnologyTM, a fast array processor for dynamic image processing and correction, and a suite of advanced pulse sequences, all of which are designed to achieve the highest possible spatial resolution, spatial fidelity, imaging speed, temporal stability, and sensitivity. This prototype 3T scanner will continue to undergo technological upgrades to stay at the forefront of MRI technology, and support our advanced technical research activities as well as a portion of our neuroscience applications that can tolerate periodic hadrware upgrades. However, this prototype 3T scanner has reached full capacity over the past year, as a result many of our neuroscience studies do not have ready access to these critical MRI technologies. To accommodate the remaining scan hours required by our 38 NIH projects, we are requesting funds to fully upgrade our existing MR750 3T MRI, with the exception of the main magnet to save cost, to the product GE UltraHigh Performace (UHP) 3T system running on the latest Premier platform. This new state-of-the-art 3T scanner is largely based on our prototype 3T MRI scanner, but has more constant hardware and software features (standard for a product scanner) for neuroscience applications that require both longitudinal and cross-sectional comparisons among human subjects. This HEI S10 project, titled “A High-Performance 3T MRI Scanner for Brain Imaging”, is submitted by 25 NIH-supported investigators who primarily conduct neuroimaging research at the Brain Imaging and Analysis Center (BIAC) at Duke University Medical School. Our collaborating scientists have found that the high spatial and teporal resolutions, high imaging speed, and high signal-to-noise ratio of this new 3T UHP MRI are must-haves in modern brain imaging research. With our outstanding technical and management infrastructure, BIAC has been serving NIH-funded investigators for nearly two decadeds. We are thus confident that we will effectively and efficiently manage this shared high-end instrument to give our users the best imaging tools to investigate human brains in health and in disease, meeting the ever increasing demand from our neuroscience investigators and their NIH-sponsored research projects.