The MRI facility’s research scanner is a GE 1.5T Twin Speed MR Scanner with EXCITE Technology; it has a contrast power injector, cardiac and respiratory gating, and fMRI stimulation equipment, as well as various imaging coils.

The facility is equipped with all necessary supplies, including resuscitation equipment. There is a dedicated participant dressing area and waiting area. Scans are performed by a dedicated (100% FTE) MR registered technologist as well as by PhD and MD level faculty.

All image data is supplied to investigators in compliance with HIPAA regulations. Data can be downloaded to dedicated research image workstations for analysis by investigators or for formatting for transmission to offsite reading centers.

In addition, the MRI facility has 2 Biomedical Engineering (BME) faculty engaged in MRI research who also serve as consultants to other investigators.

• Robert Kraft, PhD, Assistant Professor of the Department of Biomedical Engineering is a physicist working in the field of fMRI.
• Craig Hamilton, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, is an engineer working in the field of cardiac MRI.

The MRI facility is mainly involved in cardiac and neurological investigations. Both human and non-human participants can be scanned during normal business hours. The CBI has an active research agreement with GE allowing research protocols to be utilized.

1.5T GE Twin Speed MR Scanner

• GE 1.5T TwinSpeed scanner operating at 14.0 HDx M5 platform 
• Gradient strength 4G/cm in zoom mode, 2G/cm in whole mode 
• RF system amplifer maximum power 20 KW, SRFD2 amplifier 
• Image reconstruction hardware consisting of the Volume Reconstruction Engine utilizing blade technology. Each blade consists of dual 2.6 Ghz CPU'S, 8 GB of local RAM and dual 73 GB hard drives 
• Capable of ASSETT parallel imaging, diffusion weighted epi, dti, cardiac and functionality such as LAVA for abdominal imaging 
• Equipped with stimulation equipment for fMRI studies