Instrument: This application proposes the collaborative purchase of a wide-bore (70 cm) high performance Siemens MAGNETOM Vida 3 Tesla MRI scanner (Vida) for human and large animal research, sited at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Vida will replace a Siemens MAGNETOM Trio 3T MRI scanner (Trio). The Vida has hardware and software capabilities that are substantially superior to the older Trio, which is no longer supported by Siemens. The Vida will be paired with a Siemens MAGNETOM Prisma 3T MRI scanner (Prisma) to form a research MRI core that more completely meets the human and large animal MRI needs of all NIH grants on campus. The Prisma scanner is currently at capacity and will be overburdened within the coming year, while the Trio cannot take on high-end MR projects because of its more limited capabilities. The Prisma will greatly extend the capacity and technologies offered by the MRI Service Recharge Center. Capabilities: In addition to its wide bore, which is critically needed for some projects, the Vida has all of the high-end performance hardware and software capabilities of the Prisma with the exception of slightly reduced gradient strength (60 mT/m vs. 80 mT/m on the Prisma). The Vida offers several features not available on the Prisma, including BioMatrix sensors and software that automatically detect and provide synchronization signals for respiration and cardiac motion, as well as a 64-channel head coil with onboard high level local shim capabilities. Need for the Vida: 28 major and 6 minor user projects are currently hindered by the narrow bore of the Prisma. Many of these consistently lose patients who are claustrophobic or simply cannot fit in the 60cm Prisma bore. Further, there are 5 major user projects that would benefit from the enhanced cardiac imaging capabilities of the Vida. We also have an active interventional MRI program that would greatly benefit from the larger bore to accommodate the additional instrumentation needed in the bore for interventional therapies. Finally, all projects will benefit from the increased high-end MRI capacity and the improved ability to schedule research subjects on either the Prisma or the Vida. Long-term objectives: The long-term goal of this proposal is to add the Vida to the already functioning MRI Service Recharge Center where all scientific, technical, and financial management processes are in place, and to enhance all imaging- related NIH grants not just at the University of Utah, but throughout the metropolitan area, from Brigham Young University 45 miles to the south and Utah State University 50 miles to the north. The Vida will improve the research productivity of more than 34 current NIH studies and enable increased patient participation.
The proposed MAGNETOM Vida 3T MRI scanner will provide greatly improved imaging performance over the existing Trio scanner, unburden the existing Prisma scanner which is at capacity, improve the research productivity over 28 funded NIH grants, and enable expansion of imaging research at the University of Utah. The proposed scanner will directly aid research in cardiac disease diagnosis, stroke diagnosis and management, neurological systems involved in opioid abuse, and non-invasive breast tumor ablation
