High field small animal MRI

多模态小动物成像是Westfalian Wilhelms大学的中心研究课题之一。所要求的小动物磁共振成像（MRI）扫描仪的首要目标是使基础和应用生物医学研究的新型成像方法的开发，实施和应用成为可能。这包括用于细胞、功能和微观结构成像的新方法，这将为免疫反应、大脑功能以及癌症和其他疾病的发展中的生理和病理过程提供前所未有的见解。由于MRI的非侵入性性质，开发的方法可以转化为人类成像，并可能为病理学的临床诊断提供新的选择。一个主要的研究重点将是开发功能性神经成像方法，使用传统的BOLD MRI，扩散加权MRI和化学交换饱和转移（CEST）进行大脑功能性MRI。这些方法将主要（但不限于）用于研究癫痫和急性和慢性疼痛模型。目的是阐明癫痫发作引起的大脑网络的时间改变，以改善这种病理学的诊断和干预。疼痛模型将用于阐明疼痛的神经处理，以检测改善急性和慢性疼痛治疗的靶点。为了获得更详细的分子见解，MRI方法将与基于纤维的荧光记录相结合。与功能成像并行，结构神经成像的MRI方法将被开发并主要应用于研究中风和脱髓鞘疾病，如多发性硬化症。第二个主要研究重点将是炎症和感染的成像。为此，将开发新的MR方法来检测和跟踪细菌和免疫细胞。在这种情况下，新型造影剂将被设计并在广泛的疾病模型中进行测试。将为这些评估开发多模式和定量MR方法。一个特别的重点是单细胞跟踪MR方法，如时间推移MRI，这将进一步完善和应用于研究对各种炎症刺激的免疫反应的时间过程。除了自身免疫反应和细菌感染外，这些疾病还包括癌症模型，以研究肿瘤相关炎症。为了进一步研究肿瘤模型，将开发对比增强MRI、弛豫时间映射和使用振荡梯度扩散加权MRI的显微结构成像的方法。进一步重要但不是主要的研究课题将是开发新的CEST方法，用于肾脏，大脑，癌症和心脏的代谢成像。将使用新的流量测量序列和已建立的方法进行心脏MRI，以研究缺血后的心脏重塑。

Multimodal small animal imaging is one the central research topics at the Westfalian Wilhelms University. The overarching aim of the requested small animal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner is to enable development, implementation, and application of novel imaging methods for basic and applied biomedical research. This includes novel methods for cellular, functional, and microstructural imaging, which will provide unprecedented insight into physiological and pathological processes in the immune response, function of the brain, and development of cancer and other diseases. Due the non-invasive nature of MRI, developed methods can be translated to human imaging and may provide novel options for clinical diagnosis of pathology. One major research focus will be on development of methods for functional neuroimaging, using conventional BOLD MRI, diffusion weighted MRI, and chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) for functional MRI of the brain. These methods will be applied predominantly (but not exclusively) to investigate models of epilepsy and acute and chronic pain. The aim is to elucidate temporal alterations in brain networks, caused by epileptic seizures, to improve diagnosis and intervention for this pathology. Pain models will be used to elucidate neural processing of pain, to detect targets for improved treatment of acute and chronic of pain. To obtain a more detailed molecular insight, MRI methods will be combined with fibre-based fluorescence recordings. In parallel to functional imaging MRI methods for structural neuroimaging will be developed and applied predominantly to investigate stroke and demyelinating disease such as multiple sclerosis. The second major research focus will be on imaging inflammation and infection. For this purpose, novel MR methods to detect and track bacteria and immune cells will be developed. In this context, novel contrast agents will be designed and tested in a wide range of disease models. Multimodal and quantitative MR approaches will be developed for these assessments. One special focus is on single cell tracking MR methods such as time lapse MRI, which will be further refined and applied to investigate the time course of the immune response to various inflammatory stimuli. Besides autoimmune reactions and bacterial infections, these conditions also include cancer models, to investigate tumour associated inflammation. For the further investigation of tumour models, methods for contrast enhanced MRI, relaxation time mapping, and microstructural imaging using oscillating gradient diffusion weighted MRI will be developed. Further important but not major topics of research will be the development of novel CEST methods for metabolic imaging of the kidney, brain, cancer, and the heart. Cardiac MRI will be performed using novel flow measurement sequences and established methods to investigate cardiac remodelling after ischemia.