TWINNING OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING RESEARCH INSTITUTES

磁共振成像（MRI）被认为是最通用和先进的医学成像模式，能够产生强调不同组织（材料）属性的断层图像，从而有助于诊断各种异常。MRI的复杂性和重要性使其成为一个特定的研究领域，在世界各地都有专门的研究中心。位于土耳其的Bilkent大学国家磁共振研究中心（UMRAM）是一个成熟的MRI研究中心，拥有出色的研究记录，但进入欧洲研究网络的机会有限。高等教育结对计划旨在将扩大国家（如土耳其）的研究机构与欧洲的同行建立网络，将扩大国家纳入欧洲研究网络。为了将UMRAM整合到欧洲研究网络中，Bilkent University-UMRAM作为协调合作伙伴，与德国癌症研究中心- DKFZ（德国），Universitätsklinikum弗赖堡（德国），Medizinische Universität Wien（奥地利）和诺丁汉大学（英国）作为高级合作伙伴正在组建一个团队，在磁共振成像领域开展欧盟地平线结对项目（MRITwins）。该项目团队的研究专长在于“MR工程”领域，为MRI开发新的硬件和支持软件。除了结对项目的短期目标外，该团队的成立是为了通过加入他们的互补专业知识对MR工程研究产生长期影响。为了启动项目参与者之间的长期研究合作，结对计划允许进行探索性研究。MRITwins项目的范围包括研究工作，其中项目合作伙伴将探索“使用开源硬件和软件重新设计MRI扫描仪”的主题，特别关注新型梯度和射频阵列技术。

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is known as the most versatile and advanced medical imaging modality capable of producing tomographic images emphasizing different tissue (material) properties and hence facilitating the diagnosis of a wide range of anomalies. The complexity and the importance of MRI make it a specific research field with dedicated research centers throughout the world. Bilkent University’s National Magnetic Resonance Research Center (UMRAM) in Turkey is an established MRI research center with an excellent research track record but limited access to European research networks. The HE Twinning program aims at networking research institutes from the Widening countries (such as Turkey) with their counterparts in Europe to integrate Widening countries into the European research network. In order to integrate UMRAM into the European research networks, Bilkent University-UMRAM as the coordinating partner, together with the German Cancer Research Center - DKFZ (Germany), Universitätsklinikum Freiburg (Germany), Medizinische Universität Wien (Austria),and University of Nottingham (UK) as advanced partners are forming a team to conduct an EU Horizon Twinning Project (MRITwins) in the field of Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The project team’s research expertise lies in the field of “MR Engineering,” where novel hardware and enabling software is developed for MRI. Beyond the short-term goals of the twinning project, this team is formed to make a long-term impact on MR Engineering research by joining their complementary expertise. To initiate a long-term research collaboration between the project participants, the twinning program allows for an exploratory research component. The scope of the MRITwins Project includes research work in which the project partners will explore the topic of “re-engineering MRI scanners with open-source hardware and software” with a specific focus on the novel gradient and radiofrequency array technologies.