We propose to establish a Center for Advanced Magnetic Resonance Technology at Stanford as a National Research Resource. The mission of the Center will be to develop and make available innovative technologies in five core research areas of magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy (MRI/MRS): (1) selective RF excitation, (2) rapid imaging methods, (3) imaging of microvasculature, (4) endogenous contrast mechanisms, and (5) quantitation and imaging of flow and motion. We will capitalize on our extensive experience in these MRI and MRS areas to improve and expand technology for better imaging in basic research and clinical care. Initial collaborative projects will include mapping of human brain functions with fMRI, studies of flow and myocardial motion, renal blood flow, blood flow dynamics, 1H metabolite imaging for aging and dementia, studies of infant heme catabolism and carbon monoxide detection, and functional maps of brain perfusion for ischemia and neuroscience investigations. Collaborations with numerous investigators provide a mutually beneficial environment for our continued development efforts. The Center's facilities and resources serve a wide base of users from medical and research institutions with sponsored research projects. With requested support, we will augment our animal experiment programs, equip the imaging magnets with high speed gradients and data acquisition systems, and develop additional instrumentation to expand our collaborative and service capabilities. We will continue to train students and postdoctoral fellows, to publish extensively, and to provide educational opportunities to the scientific and medical community. As a National Resource, we will publish a quarterly newsletter to highlight new developments and the capabilities at the Center, and distribute it in electronic and hardcopy form nationwide. New technological capabilities will be disseminated rapidly in electronic or hardcopy format for widespread use in the research community. We have collected a superb group of scientists and staff for this National Research Resource Center. At the present time, there is no center in the West Coast geographic region that can support the development of advanced MRI technology, especially as applied to biomedical imaging and with capabilities spanning the scale from NMR microscopy to whole-body applications. Our background In medical imaging innovation, coupled with our outstanding record of training scientists over the last three decades, makes Stanford ideally positioned to become the West Coast Resource Center for advanced magnetic resonance technology.
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