NexGen 7T MRI scanner for mesoscale brain imaging: Integration and Dissemination

用于中尺度脑成像的 NexGen 7T MRI 扫描仪：整合与传播

• 批准号: 10725586
• 负责人: Alexander Beckett
• 金额: $ 135.69万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-15 至 2027-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10725586
• 关键词: 3-Dimensional; Acceleration; Alzheimer' s Disease; Area; BRAIN initiative; Brain; Brain imaging; COVID-19 pandemic; Cells; Collaborations; Communication; Data; Data Analyses; Development; Diffusion; Education and Outreach; Educational workshop; Engineering; Ensure; Epilepsy; Feedback; Fingerprint; Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Funding; Germany; Goals; Head; Human; Human Resources; Image; Imaging Techniques; Infrastructure; Institution; International; Internet; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Magnetism; Mental disorders; Neocortex; Neurons; Neurosciences; Neurosciences Research; Performance; Peripheral; Peripheral Nerve Stimulation; Persons; Physiologic pulse; Pilot Projects; RF coil; Reproducibility; Research; Research Personnel; Resolution; Resources; Scanning; Scientist; Signal Transduction; Speed; Structure; Synapses; System; Technology; Testing; Time; Training; Travel; United States National Institutes of Health; Work; base; brain circuitry; brain magnetic resonance imaging; brain research; computer infrastructure; connectome; data exchange; density; design; experimental study; imaging approach; improved; innovation; instrument; meetings; neocortical; nervous system disorder; neural circuit; neuroimaging; neuronal circuitry; next generation; novel; operation; outreach; prospective; recruit; symposium; temporal measurement; tool; transmission process

SUMMARY The "NexGen" 7 Tesla MRI scanner at UC Berkeley is a unique resource that we wish to make available for neuroscience collaborations across the globe. It was specifically designed for extremely high resolution structural and functional neuroimaging at the scale of cortical laminae and columnar neurocircuit organization ("meso-scale"). To achieve this, the NexGen scanner builds upon existing standard 7T scanners and integrates a number of technological advances, creating synergistic improvements and gains in speed, resolution and signal. Such advances include: currently the highest performance one-of-a-kind head-only magnetic gradient coil designed to safely create more signal at faster time scales (higher gradient amplitudes and slew rates without peripheral nerve stimulation; PNS), high-density receiver array coils (e.g. up to 128 channel receive array integrated into a 7T) that enable unprecedented spatial resolution and image-forming accelerations. As part of this collaborative endeavor, we will be creating novel advances in pulse sequences for novel neuroscientific applications imaging to take advantage of the scanner hardware’s higher performance. The scanner has been validated in reproducible mesoscale fMRI studies using GE-EPI and VASO fMRI at isotropic resolutions between 0.39 mm and 0.6 mm, that is a 4.6 to 23-fold higher volumetric resolution over typical 1 mm isotropic resolution in fMRI on conventional 7T scanners. The stronger gradients offer considerable improvements in diffusion imaging reaching higher b-values with shortened TEs. These hardware advances also enable larger areas of brain coverage, higher temporal resolutions and reduced distortions at mesoscale resolutions. Thus, with the NexGen 7T, meso-scale neuroscience experiments can be greatly expanded from traditional zoomed, small volume imaging approaches. Such a one-of-a-kind instrument has great potential to continue to advance the field and will be optimally used by a diverse group of neuroscientists and clinician scientists. Funding of the current U24 proposal would facilitate engineering and scientific personnel to support and maintain the use of the scanner; enables efficient data transfer and analysis, as well as the subject recruitment, user training and guidance of scientific collaborations nationally and internationally. While the main goal of this project is to provide an innovative resource for higher granularity in functional and structural human brain research, the research resource also holds potential for better understanding neurological diseases, such as Epilepsy, Alzheimer’s and mental disorders.

概括 加州大学伯克利分校的“NexGen”7 Tesla MRI 扫描仪是我们希望提供的独特资源 全球神经科学合作。它是专门为极高分辨率而设计的 皮质层和柱状神经回路组织尺度的结构和功能神经影像 （“中观尺度”）。为了实现这一目标，NexGen 扫描仪以现有标准 7T 扫描仪为基础， 整合了许多技术进步，创造协同改进和速度增益， 分辨率和信号。这些进步包括： 目前性能最高的独一无二的头部 磁梯度线圈旨在以更快的时间尺度（更高的梯度幅度）安全地产生更多信号 和没有周围神经刺激的转换速率； PNS），高密度接收器阵列线圈（例如多达 128 个） 通道接收阵列集成到 7T），实现前所未有的空间分辨率和图像形成 加速度。作为这项合作努力的一部分，我们将在脉冲序列方面取得新的进展 对于新颖的神经科学应用成像，可利用扫描仪硬件的更高性能 表现。该扫描仪已在使用 GE-EPI 的可重复介观尺度 fMRI 研究中得到验证， 各向同性分辨率在 0.39 毫米至 0.6 毫米之间的 VASO fMRI，体积提高了 4.6 至 23 倍 分辨率超过传统 7T 扫描仪上 fMRI 中典型 1 毫米各向同性分辨率。梯度越强 显着改进扩散成像，以缩短 TE 达到更高的 b 值。这些 硬件的进步还可以实现更大的大脑覆盖区域、更高的时间分辨率并减少 中尺度分辨率下的畸变。因此，借助 NexGen 7T，中观规模的神经科学实验可以 可以大大扩展传统的变焦、小体积成像方法。如此独一无二的 仪器具有继续推进该领域的巨大潜力，并将被不同的群体最佳使用 神经科学家和临床科学家。当前 U24 提案的资助将促进工程设计 支持和维护扫描仪使用的科学人员；实现高效的数据传输和 分析以及全国科学合作的受试者招募、用户培训和指导 和国际上。虽然该项目的主要目标是为更高层次的研究提供创新资源 人类大脑功能和结构研究的粒度，该研究资源还具有潜力 更好地了解神经系统疾病，如癫痫、阿尔茨海默氏症和精神障碍。