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Research Facility News Archive

2015-2016 News Archive

GE MR950 Whole Body 7T MR Scanner Established

We have begun scanning healthy participants for the GE MR950 Whole Body 7T MR Scanner in our facility. Active research programs by faculty in the MR Research Facility (MRRF) include the development of innovative imaging methods to accelerate image acquisition, new techniques to study brain function, the creation of novel imaging agents, and the development of multi-modal imaging probes. These multi-disciplinary research projects are supported by grants from NSF, NIH, DOD, VA and private foundations. Some of these research projects for the new 7T scanner include the use of T1p imaging techniques to measure pH resulting from brain activity. They have shown that T1p uses a rotating frame that is sensitive to detect widespread pH fluctuations during normal function. T1p as an imaging biomarker has been most recently applied in bipolar disorder and Huntington's Disease to gain new insights into brain changes in these conditions. If you are interested in being scanned on our 7T scanner as a healthy pilot subject please let us know at MRIResearch@healthcare.uiowa.edu

Date: Tuesday, December 13, 2016

7T Scanner Multi-Nuclear Imaging and Spectroscopy

Development and testing of multi-nuclear imaging on the GE 7T whole body scanner is currently underway. We have successfully generated images and spectrum from 23Na and 31P using physical phantoms. The MRRF currently has three multi-nuclear coils from RapidMRI: 1) 31P/1H Brain, 2) 23Na/1H Brain, and 3) 23Na/1H Flex Coil.

Date: Tuesday, December 13, 2016

First human brain images from Iowa 7T scanner

March 2015 began the era of 7T brain imaging at the University of Iowa. We have begun human brain imaging on healthy volunteers with our GE MR950 scanner, and the results are already showing us new things. Above are shown sample images from T2-weighted (left panel) and FLAIR (right panel) acquisitions, where we are beginning to optimize sequences and protocols for 7T. We have also been gaining experience with BRAVO (the GE version of magnetization-prepared gradient scho) and SWAN (the GE version of susceptibility weighted imaging).

     

Date: Friday, March 13, 2015

First images from GE MR950 7T scanner

Installation of the Magnetic Resonance Research Facility's new 7T scanner is almost complete! We have begun to acquire images in phantoms and other materials as our system is tested and calibrated. The image above is a sample of the kind of exquisite detail we hope to see once we begin human imaging. Can you guess what it is?

Date: Sunday, March 1, 2015

T1ρ MRI provides new insight into bipolar disorder

In a study published January 6, 2015 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, UI researchers showed that quantitative T1ρ MRI yielded significant differences in the cerebral white matter and the cerebellum of patients with by bipolar disorder compared to matched control subjects. T1ρ imaging is thought to be sensitive to changes in pH and/or glucose concentration, factors that are influenced by cellular metabolism. This imaging research is providing new understanding of the mechanisms of bipolar disorder and may help in its diagnosis and treatment.

The full paper is "Brain abnormalities in bipolar disorder detected by quantitative T1ρ mapping" (link), authored by Casey Johnson, Robin Follmer, Ipek Oguz, Lois Warren, Gary Christensen, Jesse Fiedorowicz, Vincent Magnotta, and John Wemmie.

New picture, new insight

Date: Thursday, January 1, 2015


2014 News Archive

University of Iowa MR Research Facility External Advisory Committee, October 22 and 23, 2014

Ravinder Reddy, PhD, University of Pennsylvania. Andy Alexander, PhD, University of Wisconsin. Garry Gold, M.D., Stanford University School of Medicine.

External Advisory Committee Itinerary 

GE 7T Lecture Series, October 23, 2014

Garry Gold, M.D., Stanford University School of Medicine. Troy Lewein, B.A., R.T (R)(MR), GE Healthcare  

  • Title: Orthopedic Imaging at 7T
  • Time: Thursday, October 23, 12:00--1:00pm
  • Where: 283 EMRB, Seebohm Conference Room

7T scanner has arrived.

MRRF staff with new 7T scanner. Learn more.

7T Coming Soon!

The GE MR950 7T scanner is on schedule to be delivered to The University of Iowa on Thursday, June 5. If you take a look here on Thursday, you may be able to see it as it arrives and is put in place!

The linked construction camera updates every 15 minutes.

ISMRM 2014 Award Winners

Congratulations to Sajan Goud Lingala, Casey Johnson, and Merry Mani on receiving Magna Cum Laude awards at the 2014 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine annual meeting in Milan, Italy. The winning presentations were

  • Towards 3D Dynamic MRI of the Lung Using Blind Compressed Sensing(Sajan Goud Lingala, Yasir Baqqal, John Newell, Dingxin Wang, Jessica C. Sieren, Daniel Thedens, and Mathews Jacob)

  • Quantitative T1rho Mapping of Bipolar Disorder: Basal Differences in Euthymia(Casey P. Johnson, Robin L. Follmer, Ipek Oguz, Lois A. Warren, Gary E. Christensen, Jess G. Fiedorowicz, Vincent A. Magnotta, and John A. Wemmie)

  • Fast Motion-Compensated ODF Reconstruction from Under-Sampled Multi-Channel Multi-Shot Non-Cartesian Diffusion Imaging Data at High Angular and Spatial Resolution (Merry Mani, Mathews Jacob, Vincent Magnotta, and Jianhui Zhong)

Research MRI Participates in Radiology Blood Drive

What do our technologists do when they're not scanning? They give from the heart (and the rest of the cardiovascular system)! Marla and Autumn donate at the Radiology Blood Drive on May 15.

G.E. Healthcare partners with Tesla on 7T MRI research scanners

G.E. Healthcare, Buckinghamshire, U.K., announced a partnership with West Sussex, U.K.-based Tesla Engineering Ltd. on the development of a new 7T whole-body MRI scanner.

The partnership will build on GE’s 10-year history of producing 7T MRI scanners, currently deployed in the U.S., Italy and Japan for medical and scientific research, primarily in morphological and functional imaging of the brain. In the U.S., G.E. has three 7T scanners installed, one each at Stanford University, the University of California, San Francisco and the Medical College of Wisconsin.

 Read the full story here.

7T Magnet

7T Magnet scanner has shipped and should arrive in Iowa on the 4th of June 

Department of Psychology Colloquium, April 25

ABSTRACT: Infancy and early childhood coincide with one of the most dynamic periods of brain development, plasticity, and learning. A key developmental process throughout this period is myelination, the establishment of the myelinated white matter, which facilitates rapid communication across the brain's eloquent networks and systems. Abnormalities in white matter development, leading to altered brain connectivity, are hypothesised to play an important role in many developmental, behavioral and neuropsychiatric disorders, such as autism, ADHD, and others. Unfortunately, little is known about the patterns of brain growth and white matter myelination throughout early childhood; how these patterns relate to functional maturation; or how they may be involved in various disorders. In this talk, we will describe an MR imaging method for specifically investigating myelination, and detail results from an ongoing longitudinal study of early brain development in healthy, typically developing infants and toddlers. Specifically, we will demonstrate the normative patterns of white matter myelination, detail associations between myelination and functional connectivity (derived using resting-state fMRI), as well as correlations between myelination and behavioral and cognitive maturation.

7T Magnet

7T on schedule to be shipped on April 28.

 GE 7T Lecture Series, March 6, 2014

Michael Zeineh, MD., PhD., Stanford University Medical Center

  • Title: IIBI Bench to Bedside: Ultra-High Resolution Imaging of the Hippocampus at 7T
  • Time: Thursday, March 6, 12:00-1:00pm
  • Where: Braley Auditorium, 01136 PFP
  • Download Flyer 

2013 News Archive

MRRF in the Gazette

New 7T Scanner In News

ICTS 7T MRI Symposium, September 12, 2013

Keynote Speaker: Kamil Ugurbil, Ph.D. - University of Minnesota, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research 
Symposium Information  

Symposium Schedule

  • CTS Novel Phenotyping Core, presented by Dr. Stanford and Dr. Andreasen, 8:15-8:30
  • Structural Brain Imaging, presented by Dr. Nopoulos, 8:30-9:00
  • Functional Brain Imaging, presented by Dr. Spencer, 9:00-9:30
  • Musculoskeletal imaging, presented by Dr. Pedersen, 9:30-10:00
  • Iowa 7T Scanner and Capabilities, presented by Dr. Magnotta, 10:00-10:30
  • Coffee Break, 10:30-11:00
  • High Field Imaging: Expanded Opportunities, presented by Dr. Ugurbil, 11:00-12:00
  • Panel Discussion, moderated by Dr. Ugurbil and Speakers, 12:00-1:00

CMRR Ultra-High Field MR Workshop hosted by the University of Minnesota,October 11 - 13, 2013

Workshop information 

Brains Camp 2013, August 1-2, 2013

7T Lecture Series Lecture, June 28, 2013

Rob Peters, Ph.D., GE Healthcare Technologies
  • Title: Collaborative Research and Developments in GE MR Musculoskeletal Imaging
  • Time: Friday, June 28, 12:00-1:00pm
  • Where: Braley Auditorium 01136 PFP

Lecture, June 25, 2013

Ravinder Reddy, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
  • Title: Creatine Amine CEST: A Novel Method for Imaging of Myocardial Creatine Kinase Metabolism
  • Time: Tuesday, June 25, 10:00-11:00am
  • Where: Braley Auditorium 01136 PFP

External Advisory Board Review, June 24, 2013

Reviewers: Andy Alexander (University of Wisconsin) and Ravi Reddy (University of Pennsylvania)  

Lecture, June 21, 2013

Josh Trzasko, Ph.D, Mayo Clinic
  • Title: Sparsity and Beyond: Modern Strategies for Magnetic Resonance Image Reconstruction
  • Time: Friday, June 21, 12:00-1:00pm
  • Where: 3111 Seamans Center

February 21, 2013

7T Lecture Series Lecture

Sharmila Majumdar, Ph.D., Professor Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco
  • Title: 7 Tesla Musculoskeletal Imaging
  • Time: Thursday, February 21, 12:00-1:00pm
  • Where: Braley Auditorium 01136 PFP