This proposal is in response to NCRR """"""""HIGH END INSTRUMENTATION PROGRAM (RFA: RR-03-009) to reinforce our investment in improved instrumentation for the advancement of biomedical research in Stanford's interdisciplinary approach. The acquisition of the proposed General Electric """"""""microSigna 7.0"""""""" 7T High-Field Small-Bore MR Signa LX scanner will address our needs for a high-end MR experimental scanner to support and drive the research of our community of basic and clinical scientists within the multimodality imaging facility for laboratory animal imaging called the Stanford Center for Innovation in In-vivo Imaging (SCI3). This resource has been successfully established as an integral part of the Medical School and larger Stanford community. The SCI3 is supported by the Stanford NCRR P41 (Glover, PI), the Stanford NCI Small Animal Imaging Research Proposal (SAIRP, Contag, Moseley, Co-PI's), and the newly-created Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS, Gambhir, PI). The advanced MR scanner to be acquired will together with our microPET, microCT, and microSPECT platforms permit us to better monitor both structural and functional changes in small animal models non-invasively and in real-time. State of the art MR imaging within the SCI3 is necessary to enhance detection sensitivity and resolution; our strong MR-oriented faculty within the P41 will help develop new MR adaptations to support a growing number of crucial biomedical experimental studies now being done on our 1.5T and 3T whole-body GE Signa LX scanners. The acquisition of this new high-field, small bore (310mm bore) experimental scanner that brings the best in clinical consoles (the LX 11, EXCITE2, 8-channel multi-coil platform) and all GE and Stanford-derived LX pulse sequences together with a new design in high-speed gradients (25cm, 500mT/m) with 8-channel multi-coil RF arrays will greatly enhance our MR program at Stanford by providing a route for translational research from the top down, that is, by bringing all the powerful scanning tools available on clinical research scanners to our routine-to-advanced animal MR scanning. The result will be improved imaging technologies that push the limits of currently available bioimaging MR methods combined with the easy-to-use yet powerful LX console that will greatly facilitate the introduction of researchers and young investigators to state-of-the-art MR imaging, and also support a strong multi-modality Stanford Center for Innovation in In-vivo Imaging (SCI3).
