Theoverallpurposeofthisproposalistoupgradearesearch-dedicated,Philips3TAchievaMRIscannerat theUniversityofWashingtonMedicalCentertosupportstateoftheartsignalacquisition.Theupgradewill incorporateadigitalsignaltransmissionsystem,amulti-transmitsystem,andthePhilipsimplementationof simultaneousmultislice(multi-band)acquisition.Thisupgradewillenable(i)a15-40%increaseinsignal-to- noiseratio,(ii)increasedRFhomogeneityandlowRFpowerdeposition,and(iii)highspatialandtemporal resolutionforfunctionalandanatomicalimaging.Extensiveneuroimagingresearchisconductedatthis scanner,especiallywithfunctionalMRIandsupportingmodalities,Researchactivityalsoencompasses cardiacMRI,fetalimaging,coildesignandoptimization,andadvancedspectroscopy.Theproposedupgrade willbenefitessentiallyallneuroimagingresearch,inhumansandanimalsalike,throughafundamental improvementinthefidelity(signaltonoisecharacteristics)oftheinstrument.Imagingsciencehasbecome simplycritical,andincreasinglyso,forunderstandingbiologicalsystems,detectingandcontrollingdisease, andtranslatingbasicdiscovery.TheDiagnosticImagingScienceCenter(DISC)andthecloselypartnered IntegratedBrainImagingCenter(IBIC)arethenecessaryandprimaryneuroimagingresourcesforNIH-funded investigatorsattheUniversityofWashington,whoareinterestedinbrainorganizationandfunctioninhealth anddisease.Theupgradewillenablethemtoadvancemultimodal(functionalanddiffusionconnectivity, vascularandstructuralMRI)imagingmethodsinclinicalpopulations,includingchildrenandelderswith neurodegenerativediseases.MultibandacquisitionwillsupportsuperiorspatiotemporalresolutioninfMRI, makemulti-shelldiffusionMRIfeasibleroutinely,andenableHumanConnectomeProject-compatibledata acquisitionprotocolsthatarebecomingastandardrequirementforsomecognitiveneuroscienceprograms. ThescannerishousedatDISCandmaintainedunderthesupervisionofexpertMRIphysicistsand technologists.Wehaveoutlinedadetailedfinancial,technical,andsafetyplanforthesmoothoperationofthe scanner.Institutionalcommitmentincludesthedifferentialcostsrequiredinexcessofthegrantawardto completethisupgrade.
TheproposedupgradeofaresearchdedicatedPhilipsMRIscannerwillscientificallybenefitallusersofa productiveandintegratedMRIfacilitydominatedbyNIH-fundedinvestigators.Itwillfundamentallyimprovethe levelofinquirypossibleincognitiveandsystemsneuroscience.Theemergentcapabilities,especially multibandacquisition,arecriticaltothecompetitivenessofscientistsinvestigatingtheorganizationofthebrain inhealthanddisease.
