Upgrade to Multiuser 3T Magnetic Resonance Imager

描述(由申请人提供)：这项提案是为肯塔基大学升级高端3T西门子三人组MR Imager提供资金。此次升级包括对成像仪的梯度、射频发射器和接收器系统以及数据采集和重建系统的改进，并将显著提高仪器的成像能力，使其达到最先进的水平，并为未来的升级提供平台。这一升级对于继续支持由NIH资助的11名杰出研究人员至关重要，他们将该仪器作为神经科学研究的核心，对帕金森氏症和阿尔茨海默氏症等发育和退行性疾病进行研究。磁共振技术和神经科学研究的快速发展需要这次升级，并将使英国研究人员推进对衰老、痴呆症和其他神经疾病的研究。随着这一升级，英国神经科学研究人员将拥有最灵敏的成像技术，以非侵入性方式调查神经系统疾病的原因和后果。特别是，这次升级的具体目标是提高图像采集的速度和信噪比，提高图像和光谱测量的准确性，并能够获得探索白质结构和功能所需的新的扩散加权数据。设备升级将使许多重要的尖端研究项目受益，例如开发早期检测阿尔茨海默氏症和帕金森氏症的敏感工具，了解与酒精中毒和自闭症有关的大脑区域，以及了解大脑结构与行为和功能之间的联系。此次升级支持了该小组的长期目标，即开发用于研究正常人和患有神经退行性疾病或先天性神经疾病的受试者的大脑解剖和功能的方法和工具。此次设备升级的相关性在于，它将为国家公认的神经科学研究人员小组提供最先进的研究工具，以极大地扩大和加强他们对大脑和脊髓变化的调查，这些变化发生在阿尔茨海默氏症和帕金森氏症等疾病以及正常衰老和包括这些疾病的生物标记物在内的治疗方法上。扩大这一研究计划是至关重要的，因为从非侵入性成像开发的技术可以通过改进的筛查和诊断轻松而快速地应用于促进公共健康。 与公共健康相关：这项共享仪器拨款将把一个多用户、高场强的MR Imager升级为肯塔基大学进行高级神经科学研究的最先进的仪器。此次升级将增加几个新的采集和分析功能，通过非侵入性成像来测量大脑的结构和功能。这些改进对于继续研究几种神经退行性疾病的起源和原因至关重要，这些疾病包括帕金森氏症、阿尔茨海默氏症、亨廷顿氏症以及正常的人类衰老。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal is for funding to upgrade a high-end 3T Siemens Trio MR imager at the University of Kentucky. The upgrade includes improvements to the gradients, the radiofrequency transmitter and receiver systems, and data acquisition and reconstruction systems of the imager and will significantly improve the imaging capabilities of the instrument, bringing it up to the state-of-the-art and providing a platform for future upgrades. The upgrade is essential to providing continued support for an outstanding group of eleven NIH funded researchers using this instrument as the central piece of experimental apparatus for their neuroscience research into developmental and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. The rapid development of MR technology and neuroscience research necessitates this upgrade and will position UK researchers to advance research into aging, dementia and other neurological diseases. With this upgrade UK neuroscience researchers will have the most sensitive imaging techniques to investigate non-invasively the causes and consequences of neurological diseases. In particular, the specific aims of this upgrade are to improve both the speed and signal-to- noise of image acquisition, the accuracy of image and spectroscopic measurements and to enable the acquisition of novel diffusion weighted data necessary to explore white matter structure and function. The equipment upgrade will benefit many important cutting-edge research projects such as the development of sensitive tools for early detection of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, understanding the areas of the brain involved in alcoholism and autism and understanding the connection between brain structure and behavior and function. The upgrade supports the long term goal of this group, which is the development of methodologies and tools for the study of brain anatomy and function in normal individuals and in subjects affected with neurodegenerative or congenital neurological conditions. The relevance of this equipment upgrade is that it will provide a nationally recognized group of neuroscience investigators with state-of-the-art research tools to greatly expand and enhance their investigations into the changes in the brain and spinal cord which occur with diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's as well as with normal aging and with therapeutic treatments including biomarkers for these conditions. Expanding this research program is crucial as the techniques developed from non-invasive imaging can easily and rapidly be applied to advancing public health through improved screening and diagnosis. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This Shared Instrumentation Grant will upgrade a multi-user, high field, MR imager to a state-of-the-art instrument for carrying out advanced neuroscience research at the University of Kentucky. The upgrade will add several new acquisition and analysis features to measure, through non-invasive imaging, the structure and function of the brain. These improvements are essential to continue research into the origin and causes of several neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Huntington's as well as normal human aging.