Core Center: NIDCD Research Core Center P30

HEI听力研究核心中心旨在支持和促进研究，促进合作，并在以下两个领域设定新的研究方向：1）工程，2）成像/形态学。 核心B：工程-工程核心将开发和维护快速变化的技术的专业知识，以支持科学应用的新的和创新的使能技术：数字信号处理（DSP），通信接口和控制器。 核心还将与特定项目的工程师互动，提供这些领域的核心硬件和软件组件，以集成到研究项目中。 核心C：成像和形态学-旨在为HEI科学家提供最先进的活体成像，形态学和显微镜服务和培训。 这些服务包括检查和维护所有成像设备、图像存储和分析、形态测量和培训。 增加一名组织学技术员将有助于实现这一目标。 增加一名全职共聚焦技术人员尤为重要，因为我们正在购买两台新的激光扫描共聚焦显微镜，功能更强，以取代我们10年前购买的那台。 核心人员将对所有成像和组织处理设备进行检查和维护。 该核心还将鼓励合作和传播有关成像领域进展的信息。 核心B 工程核心 导演：罗伯特·香农博士 描述（由申请人提供）：HEI工程核心提供了高度技术性的工程专业知识，使尖端的技术解决方案，由不同的科学家所面临的实际问题。 工程解决方案是偶发性的，需要几个月的高度熟练的工程专业知识，但只是偶尔。 个体研究者通常没有足够的持续工程需求，不足以证明全职工程人员的合理性。工程核心将保持在快速变化的技术，以支持新的和创新的科学应用使能技术的专业知识。 现代听觉研究涉及听觉假体和听力评估系统，在很大程度上依赖于数字信息的实时处理。 工程核心将保持真实的实时数字信号处理（DSP）硬件和软件方面的专业知识（目标1）。 工程核心将开发和维护通信接口的专业知识，如USB和IEEE 1394与主机和专用硬件/软件平台的实验室仪器（目标2）。 许多实验应用需要精确触发和协调多件设备，时间尺度短至微秒，图像数据的空间分辨率在微米范围内。 工程核心将开发和维护硬件和软件，以实现对各种设备的精确控制（目标3）。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The HEI Core Center for Hearing Research aims to support and facilitate research, foster collaborations and set new research directions in the following two areas: 1) engineering, and 2) imaging/morphology. Core B: Engineering - The Engineering Core will develop and maintain expertise in rapidly changing technologies to support new and innovative enabling technologies for scientific applications: digital signal processing (DSP), communication interfaces, and controllers. The Core will also interact with project-specific engineers to provide core hardware and software components in these areas for integration into research projects. Core C: Imaging and Morphology - aims to provide state-of-the-art, intravital imaging, morphology and microscopy services and training to HEI scientists. Such services include inspection and maintenance of all imaging equipment, image storage and analysis, morphometry and training. The addition of a histology technician will help towards the achievement of this objective. The addition of a full time confocal technician is particularly important since we are in the process of purchasing two new Laser Scanning Confocal microscopes with increased functionality to replace the one we originally purchased 10 years ago. The Core will perform inspection and maintenance of all imaging and tissue processing equipment. The Core will also encourage collaboration and dissemination of information about advances in the field of imaging. Core B Engineering Core Director: Robert Shannon, Ph.D. DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The HEI Engineering core provides highly technical engineering expertise to enable cutting edge technical solutions to practical problems faced by a diverse array of scientists. Engineering solutions are episodic in nature, requiring several months of highly skilled engineering expertise, but only infrequently. Individual Investigators generally do not have sufficient engineering needs on a continuing basis to justify full-time engineering personnel. The Engineering Core will maintain expertise in rapidly changing technologies to support new and innovative enabling technologies for scientific applications. Modern auditory research involving auditory prostheses and hearing assessment systems depends heavily on real-time processing of digital information. The engineering core will maintain expertise in real time digital signal processing (DSP) hardware and software (Aim 1). The engineering core will develop and maintain expertise on the communication interfaces such as USB and IEEE 1394 with host computers and specialized hardware/software platforms for laboratory instrumentation (Aim 2). Many experimental applications require precise triggering and coordination of multiple pieces of equipment, on time scales as short as microseconds and for spatial resolution of image data in the micron range. The engineering core will develop and maintain hardware and software to allow precision control of diverse equipment (Aim 3).