This is a resubmission of a proposal to acquire a new magnet for a small bore MRI scanner. Our previous submission requested a 7 Tesla magnet - and a primary concern of the reviewers was that this was not a significant improvement over the existing 4. 7 Tesla magnet. Therefore, to respond directly to this concern, we now plan to purchase a 9.4 Tesla magnet. The Department of Radiology and the Biological Sciences Division will provide the balance of funds required for this purchase. The upgraded scanner will be used by a large number of investigators in the Biological Sciences Division as well as the Physical Sciences Division. The primary users will be 20 investigators supported by 25 RO1 or equivalent grants, and 2 NSF funded investigators. In addition, the scanner is a CORE facility for the Cancer Center and the Biological Sciences Division and supports many pilot projects. A Shared Instrumentation Grant in 2002 paid for a state-of-the art imaging console and new self-shielded gradient set. However, the 4.7 Tesla magnet is 15 years old. In the summer of 2003 it quenched without apparent cause. It was eventually repaired but given its age and instability there are significant concerns about its long-term operation. In addition, the low magnetic field strength makes it difficult to perform metabolic spectroscopy, high resolution imaging, and imaging that provides functional and anatomic information based on local magnetic susceptibility gradients (i.e. BOLD imaging and high spectral and spatial resolution imaging). The very large demand for high resolution imaging of small animals, cells, tissues, and materials justifies this request for a state-of-the-art research magnet. The new scanner will support a wide range of research projects ranging from cancer research to studies of brain function and anatomy. The research program is translational: basic research supported by the scanner will be closely linked to parallel studies in human patients and volunteers.

S10RR021177

2006-05-15

2007-05-14