This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Shared Instrumentation Grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the grant, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We propose to acquire a 16-channel broadband digital radio-frequency (RF) system upgrade for the 3 Tesla MRI system at the P.M. Kirby Research Center at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. This upgrade includes multi-element receiver coils for brain, head and neck, infant brain, and breast. Our 3 T scanner currently has only six RF channels, which are not sufficient to use these new multi-element receiver coils. No 16-channel 3 T scanner is presently available at our institutions. Investigators at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Maryland presently have 15 NIH-funded projects and 1 NSF-funded project with several aims that will strongly benefit from the improved technical capabilities offered by this upgrade. These investigators presently use the 3 T system in the F.M. Kirby Research Center for structural and functional MRI, quantitative physiological MRI, MR spectroscopy (MRS) and spectroscopic imaging (MRSI), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). The proposed upgrade will provide the following specific benefits for current users: 1) Compared to the 6-channel system currently in use, the 16-element head coil increases 1H MR sensitivity at the cortex by at least 27%, and reduces the noise-amplification penalty for high-rate SENSE by 77%. These primary advantages can be used to: a) better detect small fMRI signal changes; b) increase spatial resolution; c) increase temporal resolution (yield more data points per time in dynamic studies); d) reduce scan times (shorten scans); e) reduce spatial distortions. 2) The 16-element neuro-vascular coil allows integrated head and neck exams (i.e., combined scanning of the cervical spine and brain in single acquisitions), providing significant time savings. 3) The 8-element knee coil ('infant head coil') increases 1H MR sensitivity in infant (0-2 years old) cortex by ca. 40% (compared to the adult head coil now used). 4) The 7-element breast coil will allow breast MR studies to move from 1.5 T to 3 T, approximately doubling SNR. Furthermore, the 7-element coil will yield roughly an additional 20% SNR increase compared with 4- element coils, such as that now used at 1.5 T. The increases in sensitivity yielded by these multi-element coils are highly significant. For instance, the 27% increase in cortical sensitivity from the 16-element head coil compares to an increase in field strength to about 4 T, and would permit at least a 38% reduction in acquisition time, crucial for the special populations of children (e.g., autism; ADHD) studied at Kennedy Krieger Institute. The 3 T 16-channel digital RF upgrade is essential for continued high-quality state-of-the-art research at our institutions and for the national facilities provided by our Research Resource.
