The regional resource develops innovate magnetic resonance (MR) and optical technologies for biomedical research. These technologies are driven by both basic and clinical research collaborators in the biomedical field to address specific clinical problems and to further fundamental understanding of biophysical, structural, and functional properties of biological systems in vivo. In conjunction with its collaborators, the resource has developed four broad areas of core research. The first core deals with the use of multinuclear MR techniques to study the structural and metabolic properties of cartilage, brain, and muscle, with direct application to osteoarthritis, stroke, and muscular dystrophy. This core also investigates the use of multinuclear MR to monitor the efficacy of gene therapy in the setting of muscle disease. In the second core, the resource presents developments and improvements in quantitative perfusion and diffusion imaging, in comparison to PET. The third core deals with innovative techniques for quantitative structural imaging of multiple organ systems. These techniques include MR of hyperpolarized gases, novel contrast generation using zero-quantum coherences, and imaging of tissue microstructure. The fourth core focuses on combining optical and MR imaging techniques for the study of neurophysiology, peripheral vascular disease, and breast cancer. Technology developed by these cores will drive sixteen collaborative projects in the study of various normal and pathological tissues. Services provided by the resources include access to the 2 Tesla research magnet, coil-building facility, in- magnet exercise devices, and computer software developed by the resource. The resource also maintains an active training program consisting of seminars, MR courses, workshops, training lectures, practical training in MR and optical methods, and disseminates its research through news letters, presentations at national and international conferences, and a resource web site that provides access to all publications and software packages developed by the resource. The research resource remains committed to intellectual interchange and the interdisciplinary pursuit of basic and clinical medicine.
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