Capabilities | 3T Research MRI

This wide bore (70cm diameter) includes full digital dStream on-coil digitization to optical, patient-specific dual-channel transmit B1 shimming; second-order B0 shimming; and a full complement of surface coils including: 32channel head; 15ch head; 20ch head & neck; 52ch total neuro; two 16ch anterior torso/cardiac; 16ch posterior coil (built-in to table); 8ch knee; 16ch transmit & receive knee; 8ch wrist; 11ch large and medium shoulder; 8ch foot-ankle; 8ch upper extremity; 16ch breast; 7ch breast biopsy; and 2ch SML/MED/LRG flex coils. Each gradient axis provides 40mT/m amplitude @200 T/m/s slew; or 78mT/m amplitude @100 T/m/s slew and 100% duty cycle.

Two-dimensional (2D); 3D; Multislice; Spin-Echo; Gradient-Echo; Turbo-Spin-Echo (TSE); Single-shot and Multi-shot TSE; Echo-Planar-Imaging (EPI); Single-shot and Multi-shot EPI; 2D & 3D Parallel imaging (SENSE) on phase-encode axes consistent with coil geometry. Contrast manipulation via: inversion-recovery; fat-suppression; fluid-suppression (eg. FLAIR); water-only and fat-only excitation; spatial suppression; magnetization transfer; multi-echo; susceptibility-weighting

SENSE-capable 2D & 3D Time-of-flight MR Angiography (MRA); 2D & 3D Phase-contrast MRA; 4D flow; 2D, 3D and 4D time-resolved Contrast-Enhanced MRA.

SENSE-capable Single-shot and Multi-shot diffusion-weighted MRI on 3-orthogonal axes for trace/isotropic DWI and Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) mapping arbitrary quantity and averaging at b-values (0 à10,000s/mm2); DW single-shot TSE; on-line generation of inter-direction and b-value image registration and ADC maps

SENSE-capable pre-built quantity of diffusion-encoding directions (up to 128); or import of custom list of directions and b-values; Simultaneous Multi-Slice (Multi-Band) acquisition. Automatic on-line generation of ADC maps; Fractional-Anisotropy (FA) maps; directionally-encoded color FA maps. Operator-generated Fiber-Tracks.

Water-suppressed single-voxel (SV); SENSE-capable 2D chemical shift imaging (CSI); Multislice 2D CSI; 3D CSI; dynamic SV; non water-suppressed multi-echo SV.

Abdominal tissue stiffness via shearwave modulus (kPa), typically used as indicator of liver fibrosis.

Fat-content multi-echo DIXON acquisition and map generation (fat content via multi-peak spectral fitting with B0-shim and T2*-correction); T1-, T2-, T2*-, R2-, R2*acquisition and map generation; magnetization transfer ratio; 1D-, 2D-, 3D-, 4D- phase contrast flow; ADC and FA acquisition and map generation; neuro perfusion via dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) and arterial spin-labeling (ASL) acquisition and map generation; vascular permeability/perfusion via dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) acquisition and map generation, and mutli-echo 3D GRE quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) acquisition.

SENSE and Multi-Band capable blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) multislice single-shot EPI using task-based and resting-state experiment designs. Task stimulus (and response recording) can be provided by investigator’s own laptop. Neuro fMRI acquisition with optional recording of cardiac and respiration waveforms.

All image data are archived on a dedicated Research PACS, and on HITS-maintained 3T Research Lab drives; and optionally to Clinical PACS and/or DVDs. Data may be provided to investigators in multiple formats including: (de-identified) enhanced or classic DICOM, NIFTI, or MetaImage (MHD) files delivered to end-user via UM-maintained DropBox or clinical trial upload portals.

In Vivo SensaVue II “Esys” system for presentation of visual (mirror view of 40” LCD screen) and/or auditory (noise cancellation headphones) to the subject/patient for fMRI stimulus, or for entertainment. Subject response can be recorded via two 2-button or two 5-button finger boxes. Custom investigator-provided paradigms can be run on investigator’s laptop and fed into the SensaVue II display/audio system.

Medrad Spectris Solaris Power Injector

In Vivo Expression Patient Monitor

Physical reference objects (phantoms) with ground-truth reference parameters can be designed and provided for the MRI scan protocol QA. The currently available phantoms include apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC, ice-water-based), fBirn, NIST ADC polyvinylpyrrolidone-based (PVP, breast and head), fat-fraction, T2, magnetization transfer ratio, and diffusion kurtosis. Other custom single- and multi-parametric phantoms with several imaging parameters combined in a single spatial compartment (e.g., T1, T2, ADC, K) can be developed in collaboration with Dr. Scott Swanson.