The UK7T Network: developing the ultra-high field MRI platform for biomedical research.

超高场（UHF）磁共振成像（MRI）是一个密集的国际研究领域，代表了人类受试者生物医学成像的前沿。7T扫描仪在过去十年中经历了从定制研究系统到交钥匙临床研究工具的转变，并且现在准备提供一系列先锋转化应用。MRC最近认识到UHF研究对未来生物医学成像的战略重要性，通过临床研究基础设施倡议（CRII）在英国投资扩大7T能力。由于CRII以及额外的政府和机构资助，到2016年，英国的7T扫描仪数量将从2台增加到5台。随着国家基础设施的加强，超高频磁共振研究的重点也将随之从技术开发转向临床应用。这些发展反映了越来越多的共识，即超高频MR的广泛转化应用即将到来，而英国在实现这一目标方面发挥了重要作用。在这方面的成功将需要英国的五个7T站点（剑桥、卡迪夫、格拉斯哥、诺丁汉和牛津）共同努力，应对与超高频mr临床应用相关的挑战。因此，我们建议建立一个UK7T网络，该网络将分享专业知识，建设能力，并开发可用于多站点临床研究的图像数据采集、共享和分析的统一方法。一旦建立，UK7T网络将作为未来全英国7T磁共振合作研究项目的平台。拟议的合作伙伴补助金将使我们在启动UK7T网络时实现以下目标：1)我们将通过分享两个已建立的7T站点积累的经验，培训一批博士后研究人员，以及提供有针对性的UHF培训研讨会计划，提高英国7T站点在UHF磁共振方面的专业知识水平。2)我们将组织一系列超高频研讨会和研讨会，建立一个网络咨询委员会，并开放7T扫描的试点研究，以确保英国开发和应用MR的更广泛的研究人员社区有机会利用英国在7T基础设施方面的投资。3)我们将制定一套优化的7T脑成像协议，可用于所有7T位点。这些将包括：(i)相对简单的解剖和功能脑成像方法，可以快速应用；（ii）更先进的方法，如扩散成像和动脉自旋标记，需要额外的开发工作；（iii）可用于在所有站点保持高水平扫描仪性能的标准化质量保证协议。4)我们将与英国痴呆症平台的国家图像共享和分析平台合作，开发共享和汇总UK7T网络站点获取的数据的能力，并开发针对7T数据进行优化的分析管道。5)我们将通过评估两个示范队列来证明UK7T网络可以作为大规模多站点研究的平台：(i)来自1000名健康成人的高分辨率解剖脑图像的核心数据集，包括来自50-80岁年龄段的健康受试者的至少100组数据集；（ii） 25名早期阿尔茨海默病患者的试点临床研究。6)我们将建立一个强大的UK7T网络管理结构，以支持英国UHF基础设施的开发和利用，在合作伙伴补助金期间及以后。

Ultra-high field (UHF) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an area of intensive international research, representing the cutting edge of biomedical imaging in human subjects. 7T scanners have evolved significantly over the last decade as they undergo the transition from bespoke research systems to turn-key clinical research tools, and are now poised to deliver a range of vanguard translational applications. The MRC recently recognised the strategic importance of UHF research to the future of biomedical imaging by investing in expanded 7T capability across the UK through the Clinical Research Infrastructure Initiative (CRII). As result of the CRII, and additional governmental and institutional funding, the number of 7T scanners in the UK will increase from two to five by 2016. With this enhancement of national infrastructure there will be an accompanying shift in focus in UHF MR research from technical development to clinical application. These developments reflect the growing consensus that widespread translational application of UHF MR is on the horizon, and that the UK is well placed to play a major role in realising this goal. Success in this regard will require the UK's five 7T sites (Cambridge, Cardiff, Glasgow, Nottingham and Oxford) to work together to tackle the challenges associated with moving to clinical applications of UHF MR. We therefore propose to establish a UK7T Network that will share expertise, build capacity, and develop harmonized approaches to image data acquisition, sharing and analysis that can be deployed in multi-site, clinical studies. Once established, the UK7T Network will serve as a platform for future UK-wide, collaborative research programmes in 7T magnetic resonance. The proposed Partnership Grant will allow us to meet the following objectives in initiating the UK7T Network.1) We will increase the level of expertise in UHF magnetic resonance that the UK 7T sites can call upon, by sharing the experience that has been built up at the two established 7T sites, training a cohort of postdoctoral researchers and delivering a programme of targeted UHF training workshops. 2) We will organise a series of UHF symposia and workshops, establish a Network Advisory Committee and open up access to 7T scanning for pilot studies, to ensure that the wider community of researchers in the UK who develop and apply MR have the opportunity to exploit the UK's investment in 7T infrastructure. 3) We will produce a set of optimised 7T protocols for brain imaging that can be used by all of the 7T sites. These will include: (i) relatively straightforward anatomical and functional brain imaging methods that can applied quickly; (ii) more advanced methods, such as diffusion imaging and arterial spin labelling, that require additional development work; (iii) standardised quality assurance protocols that can be used to maintain a high level of scanner performance at all sites. 4) We will work with the Dementias Platform UK's national image sharing and analysis platform to develop the capability to share and aggregate data acquired across the UK7T Network sites, and to develop analysis pipelines that are optimised for 7T data. 5) We will demonstrate that the UK7T Network can act as a platform for large-scale multi-site studies by evaluation of two demonstrator cohorts: (i) a core data-set of high-resolution anatomical brain images from 1000 healthy adults across the age lifespan, including at least 100 data-sets from healthy subjects in the 50-80 years age range; (ii) a pilot clinical study of twenty five, early-stage Alzheimer's disease patients. 6) We will establish a robust UK7T Network management structure that will support the development and exploitation of the UK's UHF infrastructure, through the period of the Partnership Grant and beyond.