Cardiff University - EPSRC Capital Award for Core Equipment

卡迪夫大学将利用EPSRC的资本奖拨款购买三套多用户设备，作为支持其世界级实验室开发和维护的更广泛战略的一部分。这些实验室设施是大学支持高质量研究和确保其研究界长期竞争力的战略的关键组成部分。这三个提案围绕着推进神经科学研究方法的主题，建立在卡迪夫已经到位的关键优势上，在卡迪夫大学脑研究成像中心（CUBRIC）内。该设备是由跨大学的研究团队提出的，包括物理学家，工程师，计算机科学家，心理学家，遗传学家和精神病学家。这项工作的一个重要成果将是加强这些团队之间的合作--这对于我们进一步了解大脑、大脑从婴儿到老年的发育以及健康和疾病的发展至关重要。第一批设备将扩展CUBRIC的能力，使用一种称为脑磁图（MEG）的技术，我们可以测量成年人和幼儿的脑电活动，可能是在他们运动的时候--这到目前为止是不可能的。上述跨学科团队将需要充分实施该系统并优化其潜力。我们还将建立一套设备，以便更敏感和可控地研究大脑如何处理触摸和疼痛。这在技术上是具有挑战性的，因为设备必须在我们的大脑扫描环境中工作，我们召集的多学科科学家团队是解决这些挑战所必需的。然而，这是很重要的，因为许多疾病，如自闭症谱系障碍（ASD），在其核心，在感觉处理，包括触摸缺陷。此外，许多人患有慢性疼痛，该设备将允许更详细地调查大脑如何处理触摸和疼痛在这一群体中。最后，我们的许多研究科学家正在开发新颖的，更复杂的分析工具，用于神经科学数据分析。包括机器学习方法在内的新算法可以充分利用CUBRIC大脑成像设施及其生成的复杂数据所提供的机会，但需要最先进的计算机处理系统。第三个设备包就是这样一个系统，使用先进的GPU处理器，使工作能够在几个小时内完成，而在我们目前的系统上，我们必须等待几个星期。

Cardiff University will use the EPSRC's Capital Award allocation to purchase three packages of multi-user equipment as part of a broader strategy to support the development and maintenance of its world class laboratories. Such laboratory facilities are a key component of the University strategy to support high quality research and ensure the long-term competitiveness of its research community. The three proposal are linked around the theme of advancing methods for neuroscience research, building on key strengths already in place at Cardiff, within the Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC). The equipment has been proposed by research teams spanning the University, including physicists, engineers, computer scientists, psychologists, geneticists and psychiatrists. An important outcome of this work will be increased collaboration amongst these teams of people - this is essential for making the next advances in our understanding of the brain, its development from infancy through to old age, and what is happening in both health and disease.The first package of equipment will extend CUBRIC's capabilities so that, using a technique called magnetoencephalography (MEG), we can measure the brain's electrical activity in both adults and young children, potentially while they are moving - this has been impossible up to now. The interdisciplinary team mentioned above will be needed to fully implement this system and optimise its potential.We will also build a suite of equipment that allows more sensitive and controlled investigations of how the brain processes both touch and pain. This is technically challenging because the equipment must work within our brain scanning environments and the multidisciplinary team of scientists we have brought together are necessary to solve these challenges. However, it is important, because many conditions, such as autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), have, at their core, a deficit in sensory processing, including touch. In addition, many people suffer from chronic pain and this equipment will allow a more detailed investigation of how the brain processes touch and pain in this group.Finally, many of our research scientists are developing novel, more complex, analysis tools for neuroscience data analysis. The new algorithms, including machine-learning approaches, can make the best use of the opportunities afforded by CUBRIC's brain imaging facilities and the complex data it generates, but need state-of-the-art computer processing systems. The third package of equipment is such a system, using advanced GPU processors to enable work to be done in hours that we would have to wait weeks for on our current system.