Facilities

Human MR imaging studies are carried out on a 3 Tesla Siemens Allegra system. This scanner is optimized for head-only acquisitions and is ideal for the brain-specific research activities of the HBIC. By focusing only on the head, the technology can employ gradients with substantially faster rise times than are typically seen for whole body imaging systems. This shortens scan acquisition times and results in less distortion especially in fMRI experiments. The system will provide a full array of state-of-the-art imaging and spectroscopy capabilities including anatomic imaging, angiography, diffusion weighted imaging and tractography, magnetization transfer imaging, and both proton and phosphorus with proton decoupling magnetic resonance spectroscopy for metabolic studies.

Human cortical MEG studies are carried out using a 151-channel biomagnetometer system manufactured by CTF Systems Inc. The unit is housed in a magnetically and electrically shielded room. Capabilities are available of simultaneous collection of up to 156 channels of EEG data. Visual, auditory, and somatosensory stimulation equipment is available, as is data analysis software for single and multiple spatio-temporal modeling of both MEG and EEG data.

A second shielded room houses an 83 channel fetal biomagnetometer system. This unit is capable of recording in utero, fetal cardiac activity as early as 14 weeks gestational age. Brain signals including auditory evoked responses can be recorded during the later part of the third trimester. This unit can also be used to record adult magnetocardiographic activity and gastrointestinal activity.

Animal MR imaging and spectroscopy studies are carried out on a 9.4 Tesla Varian system. This system is equipped with an actively shielded magnet to minimize the stray magnetic field. This permits the housing of this system in the same building as the human imaging systems without impacting their operation with large stray magnetic fields. The animal system will be capable of implementing all the imaging and spectroscopic sequences that are available on the human system and it also provides a flexible pulse programming environment to allow implementation of new sequences in a rapid, user-friendly manner. The 31cm horizontal bore and three sets of gradients will allow studies of small animals including mice, rats, and small primates. The animal facility will include an animal holding facility for short term stays associated with imaging experiments and a small surgical suite for minor preparations. Anesthetic, respiration, and monitoring for animals in the imaging/spectroscopy system will be provided.