GE Healthcare Discovery MR750 3T MRI System

描述(由申请人提供)：这项建议的具体目的是获得资金购买GE Healthcare Discovery MR750 3T人体全身磁共振成像(MRI)系统，安装在位于威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校(UW-Madison)校园内的新建、最先进的医学研究机构威斯康星医学研究所(WIMR)的成像科学中心。目前，磁共振成像是70多名UW调查人员的主要研究重点。这些研究人员由一个多学科小组组成，包括来自医学物理、放射学、生物医学工程、物理、工程、数学、计算机科学等系的教职员工和学生。研究的主要重点是开发新的采集和重建方法，以增强临床医学磁共振成像的诊断能力，从而改善全球医疗保健。目前的项目集中在快速成像、非笛卡尔采集轨迹、解剖血管成像、血液和脑脊液流动成像、压力成像、对比剂动力学的高时间分辨率成像、脑功能成像、原发性和继发性肝癌成像、肝脏储存成像、超极化气体成像、高空间分辨率乳腺成像、高空间分辨率软骨降解生物标志物成像、核磁共振引导治疗、射频发射/接收线圈开发、非笛卡尔采集轨迹的并行成像、解剖和功能肾脏成像、脂肪和水分离，以及一系列其他课题。除了进行核磁共振成像研究的研究人员外，还有25多名研究人员的研究项目部分依赖于核磁共振。这些研究人员研究的主题包括：癌症的治疗计划；癌症的治疗反应；用于心血管介入治疗的多模式图像融合；阿尔茨海默病的进展及其对治疗的反应；成人和儿童癫痫的进展及其对治疗的反应；中风对吞咽和舌操反应的影响；损伤对肌肉形态和功能的影响，以及许多其他医学问题。在威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校，有一个长期的跨部门和跨学科合作的传统，这是推进临床和基础科学所必需的。GE Healthcare Discovery MR750 3T磁共振系统位于便利的研究设施中，与医院相连，严格致力于研究活动，该系统的推出将为快速推进磁共振研究项目提供宝贵和必要的资源，这些研究项目将导致对人类疾病的更深入了解，以及磁共振成像方法和技术的进步，从而提供更强的诊断能力。将在该系统上进行的核磁共振研究活动的目标是改善全人类的医疗保健。 公共卫生相关性：威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校的研究人员有开发新的磁共振成像(MRI)方法的历史，这些方法导致了现代医学成像的进步和人类疾病诊断的改进。提供专门用于医学成像研究的3T核磁共振扫描仪将：i)加快这些方法从实验室到临床的转化；ii)允许完成和继续现有项目，允许保留威斯康星大学的教职员工和学生；iii)促进未来资金的获得，使当前和未来的研究人员有可能留住；以及iv)导致医学成像新功能的开发，这将增加商业部门的就业机会，甚至可能降低医疗成本。收购MR750对环境有积极的影响，因为GE有几个“绿色”解决方案，如翻新和回收计划，其中94%的材料被重新使用、重新部署或回收，而且在运营期间，MR750的能源需求较低，所需耗材很少。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The specific aim of this proposal is to obtain funding to purchase a GE Healthcare Discovery MR750 3T Human Whole-Body Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system to be installed in the Imaging Sciences Center of a newly-constructed, state-of-the-art medical research facility named the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research (WIMR) located on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison). Currently, MRI is the main research focus of more than 70 UW investigators. These investigators comprise a multi-disciplinary group, including faculty, staff, and students from the departments of Medical Physics, Radiology, Biomedical Engineering, Physics, Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science, and others. The main emphasis of the research is developing new acquisition and reconstruction methods for enhancing the diagnostic capabilities of clinical medical MR imaging in order to improve healthcare worldwide. Current projects focus on rapid imaging, non-Cartesian acquisition trajectories, anatomic vascular imaging, flow imaging of blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), pressure mapping, high temporal resolution imaging of contrast material kinetics, functional brain mapping, primary and secondary liver cancer imaging, hepatic storage imaging, hyperpolarized gas imaging, high spatial resolution breast imaging, high spatial resolution cartilage degradation biomarker imaging, MRI-guided therapy, radiofrequency (RF) transmit/receive coil development, parallel imaging for non-Cartesian acquisition trajectories, anatomic and functional renal imaging, fat and water separation, as well as a host of other topics. In addition to the investigators who perform MR imaging research, there are more than 25 investigators whose research projects rely partially on MRI. These investigators study topics such as treatment planning for cancer, treatment response of cancer, multi-modality image fusion for cardiovascular interventional applications, progression of Alzheimer's disease and its response to therapy, progression of epilepsy in adults and children and its response to therapy, the impact of stroke on swallowing and response to tongue exercises, the effects of injury on muscle morphology and function, and many other medical issues. At UW-Madison, there is a long-standing tradition of inter-departmental and inter-disciplinary collaborations that are necessary for advancing clinical and basic science. The availability of the GE Healthcare Discovery MR750 3T MRI system, conveniently located in a research facility, connected to the hospital, and devoted strictly to research activities, will provide a valuable and necessary resource for the rapid advancement of MRI research projects that will lead to enhanced understanding of human diseases and advances in MR imaging methods and technologies that will provide greater diagnostic capabilities. The goal of the MRI research activities that will be performed on this system is to improve healthcare for all humankind. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have a history of developing novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods that have led to advances in modern medical imaging and improvements in diagnosing human diseases. Availability of a 3T MRI scanner that is dedicated solely to medical imaging research will: i) accelerate the translation of these methods from the lab to the clinic, ii) permit completion and continuation of existing projects permitting retention of UW faculty, staff, and students, iii) facilitate the acquisition of future funding, making possible retention of current, and recruitment of future, researchers, and iv) lead to the development of new features for medical imaging that will provide increased jobs in the commercial sector and may even lead to reductions in healthcare costs. Acquisition of the MR750 has positive impact on the environment, since GE has several "green" solutions such as a refurbishment and recycling program where 94% of materials are reused, redeployed, or recycled, and during operation, the MR750 has low energy requirements and requires very few consumables.