4.7 Tesla MRI Scanner Console and Gradient System

描述（由申请人提供）： 圣路易斯华盛顿大学生物医学磁共振实验室（BMRL）的这份提案要求提供资金购买Varian NMR Systems MRI扫描仪控制台和Magnet Scientific磁场梯度/匀场系统。这些项目将与目前手头上的4.7T（200 MHz）Oxford Instruments 33 cm孔磁体组合，以形成最先进的MRI扫描仪。该扫描仪将通过BMRL进行管理，BMRL通过位于医学院校园的4.7-T和11.74-T小动物扫描仪支持体内MR成像科学前沿的资源。BMRL用户社区迫切需要一种致力于非体内实验的扫描仪。其中包括：（i）RF线圈设计和测试，（ii）脉冲序列设计、实施和使用体模/测试对象的验证，（iii）冗长的成像会话，持续数小时或更长时间，涉及离体组织样本（例如，心脏、大脑、脊髓），以及（iv）扫描仪操作方面的用户培训。这些类别的扫描仪的使用是至关重要的体内研究的最终成功，必须追求，但这些追求消耗扫描仪的时间是迫切需要的体内实验。扫描仪将满足这一需求。此外，该扫描仪将位于大学物理和工程综合体的中心，使物理科学界能够更有效地从事生物医学MRI研究。本提案提供了以下文件：需求、既往成像性能、组织和培训能力以及机构承诺。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal from the Biomedical Magnetic Resonance Laboratory (BMRL) at Washington University in St. Louis requests funds to purchase a Varian NMR Systems MRI scanner console and a Magnex Scientific magnetic field gradient/shim system. These items will be combined with a 4.7T (200 MHz) Oxford Instruments 33-cm bore magnet, which is currently on-hand, to form a state-of-the-art MRI scanner. The scanner will be administered through the BMRL, which supports resources at the forefront of in vivo MR imaging science through its 4.7- and 11.74-T small-animal scanners located at the Medical School campus. There is a pressing need within the BMRL user community for a scanner committed to experiments that are not in vivo. These include: (i) RF coil design and testing, (ii) pulse sequence design, implementation, and validation using phantom/test objects, (iii) lengthy imaging sessions, lasting many hours or more, involving ex vivo tissue samples (e.g., heart, brain, spinal cord), and (iv) user training in scanner operation. These categories of scanner usage are critical for the ultimate success of in vivo studies and must be pursued, yet these pursuits consume scanner time that is urgently needed for in vivo experiments. The requested scanner will fill this need. Further, the scanner will be sited in the heart of the University's physics and engineering complex, enabling this physical sciences community to more effectively engage in biomedical MRI studies. This proposal provides documentation of: need, past imaging performance, organizational and training competence, and institutional commitment.