Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a technology that produces three dimensional anatomical images, can measure brain activation, and record metabolite intensities. The Donders Institute, which is part of Radboud University and Radboud University medical centre, has a large centre specialising in using MRI for imaging the brain. But the technology is also often used for imaging other parts of the body and detecting diseases.
Layers, brain disorders and other medical research
‘With a scanner at 14 Tesla, for example, we would be able to see the individual layers that form the cortex of the brain. Subcortical nuclei, areas which are too small to image otherwise, will also become visible’, says project coordinator David Norris, Professor of Magnetic Resonance Physics at the Donders Institute. ‘We can see how different brain regions are communicating with each other, which is important for understanding how the brain works at a fundamental level.’
The new scanner similarly benefits research into brain disorders. Knowledge gained from cell-level studies, such as with postmortem tissue, can now be compared better with data from living brain tissue in MRI studies. In their project application, the researchers describe five potential research projects on different brain disorders: Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, psychiatric disorders, vascular brain disorders and dementia. However, essentially all neurological diseases could gain from the benefits of 14T.
Finally, the researchers plan to use the scanner for diseases that can involve the entire body, especially outside the brain.. This could be very useful for a great variety of applications. Anja van der Kolk, radiologist and researcher at Radboud University medical centre says: ‘For example, while the immune system plays an essential part in many diseases of the body – either fighting against the disease or, counterintuitively, keeping the disease process going – we have no sensitive way of showing how this works in the human body, while immune therapies depend on this. 14T MRI can provide an in vivo biopsy without the need to remove tissue, and is sensitive enough to record changes in metabolism and even individual cells inside the body due to disease (and treatment).’
The newest technology
The new scanner will be placed in the grounds of the Radboud University Medical Centre and close to the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging. ‘Nijmegen is a location where we’ll get most out of the applications’, says Norris. ‘But it’s not “our” scanner. We shall develop this scanner together with researchers from six other institutes in The Netherlands. We’ll be opening our doors to every scientist in The Netherlands and beyond that wants to make use of this new instrument.’
With a magnetic field of 14 Tesla, this new scanner will be the most sensitive human MRI scanner in the world. MRI scanners generally have a magnetic field with a strength of 3 tesla. A 14T scanner is three times as sensitive as a 7 Tesla scanner, of which there are very few in the world.
The technology of the magnet is quite special, according to Norris. ‘Normally, you would need an immensely large scanner to achieve such high magnetic fields. But because we use a technology with a high temperature superconductor, the scanner will not be much larger than the standard 3T system.’ The new technology is also better for the environment, as it does not need large amounts of helium to cool the system.
The Dutch National 14Tesla MRI Initiative in Medical Science (DYNAMIC) is initiated by a consortium of seven partners: Radboud University (responsible institution), Amsterdam Medical Centre (AMC), Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Maastricht University, Radboud University Medical Centre, Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging – KNAW and University Medical Centre Utrecht (UMCU)