The acquisition of the MR Solutions (MRS)-3017 series MRI (3T/17cm bore) imaging system will directly benefit the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System's (VAGLAHS) research program and lead to biomedical advancements that will benefit the overall health care provide to our Veterans. The principal investigator (Dr. Frost) has established a state-of-the-art Small Animal Imaging Core at VAGLAHS that includes optical imaging/X-Ray and PET/CT imaging-platforms. Our Imaging Core has been instrumental in facilitating research at VAGLAHS, which has led to multiple peer reviewed publications and grant awards. The capability provided by the MR Solutions (MRS)-3017 system for performing longitudinal MRl-based studies on small animals will profoundly impact upon the success of VA-supported projects in basic, translational and preclinical biomedical/behavioral research. We have identified a group of VA-funding research projects/studies will benefit from the acquisition of MRI imaging technolgy. These projects include, but are not limited to, the fields of immunology/tumor biology, traumatic brain injury (TBI), Alzheimer's disease (AD), sleep-disorders, epilepsy, metabolic disease, gastroenterology, nephrology, urology, and surgery. !
The VAGLAHS is one of the largest and most complex healthcare systems within the Department of Veterans Affairs. The animal research program at GLA supports the work of about 70 Principle Investigators with around 150 funded animal use protocols (including NIH, VA, DOD, and private foundation grant support) that enable the fundamental and translational investigation of mechanisms underlying an increasingly complex set of Veteran-centric diseases and injuries. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an especially important research modality since morphology/composition of nearly any organ can be studied, including brain, bone lungs, heart, liver, pancreas, and neuromuscular systems. Acquisition of a small animal MRI imaging system will enable the refinement of our research and increase our scientific productivity, as well as offering faster ?bench to bedside? translation by standardizing pre-clinical and clinical imaging techniques, thereby improving Veteran healthcare.
