In August at the MagLab, engineers installed a new “control center” for one of our magnet systems that will result in faster experimental set-up times, more sensitive readings and detailed information for functional MRI experiments — all contributing to a wide range of neuroscience applications, such as pharmacological MRI.
The beneficiary of this significant upgrade is an 11.1 tesla magnet located within the Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy (AMRIS) Facility, located at UF. Used primarily for imaging the three-dimensional structure of living organisms, the system combines high magnetic fields with a particularly large bore (40 cm) and strong magnetic field gradients that allow large samples to be imaged with sub-millimeter resolution.
Scientists will use the magnet’s new, custom-built control center — a custom-built Bruker AV3HD console with Paravision 6.0.1. — to program experiments, sending radio frequency pulses on a nanosecond scale and receiving signals back with information on their sample. It will support growing research in developing preclinical models for a variety of diseases, including the research program of new faculty member Matthew Merritt, an expert in in vivo metabolic flux measurements.
Please visit the page on the 11.1 tesla MRI/S system for more details.
This new console is made possible by joint funding from the MagLab and from UF’s McKnight Brain Institute, College of Medicine, and Division of Sponsored Programs.
Text and photo by Elizabeth Webb.