It
doesn’t look much different, but what it sees is incredible. When
the 4T MRI system arrived at the Wayne State University School of
Medicine in April, it became the highest field MRI (magnetic resonance
imaging) scanner in the state and one of only 10 in the country. MRI
scanners like this are critical to medical and scientific discoveries,
because they provide the clearest pictures to date of the structures,
chemicals and functions within the brain—and a larger magnet equals
better clarity and precision. This glimpse inside the brain can lead to
important advances in many diseases and abnormalities including:
depression, stroke, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, anxiety
disorders, schizophrenia, pediatric metabolic disorders, autism,
migraines, brain tumors and traumatic brain injury. Wayne
State currently has several 1.5 Tesla, or 1.5T MRI scanners, which have
been used in important studies, but these are not powerful enough to
provide the most detailed views. The 4T, with a magnetic field that is
almost three-times more powerful, can provide real-time views of the
human brain. For instance, if a person taps his finger, you could watch
the motor cortex simultaneously responding and conducting that motion.
It can also pinpoint the smallest structures and tumors, allowing
surgeons to find the precise location of a seizure or cancerous growth.
In addition, the 4T measures more than 40 chemicals in the brain—a
point that is critical to drug discovery and an understanding of many
mental illnesses caused by chemical imbalances. “With
this new scanner, we hope to be able to predict what medications will be
effective in individuals with various brain disorders, and then actually
better understand the disease process itself: What’s causing someone
to be depressed? Is it a specific chemical in the brain? What’s
causing a child to have an obsessive-compulsive disorder? Is a
particular region of the brain altered? With the 4T scanner, we’ll
have the opportunity to nail these things down,” said Gregory Moore,
PhD, director of the Brain Imaging Research Division at the WSU School
of Medicine.
Although
several Michigan institutions currently have 3T scanners, the 4T scanner
will be the first and only ultra high-field MRI scanner in the state.
Furthermore, through extensive partnerships between pediatric
researchers at Wayne State and physicians at Children’s Hospital of
Michigan, WSU will be one of the few sites using its 4T magnet to study
childhood illnesses and younger patients. Like
PET technology (positron emission tomography), the 4T scanner will be
utilized for clinical research studies in patients. Many years ago,
people were skeptical that PET was only a research tool, but insurance
companies now pay for PET scans for the diagnosis and treatment of a
number of medical and neurologic conditions. Dr. Moore said that while
the 4T MR scanner will be dedicated entirely to clinical research
investigations, he expects that the findings from these studies will
have a direct impact on how we treat patients with devastating brain
illnesses. Thomas
Uhde, MD, assistant dean for research (neurosciences), said the
acquisition of this ultra high-field MRI scanner is an integral
component of WSU’s research excellence. “Wayne State has been at the
forefront of neuroimaging for some time. This new scanner will allow us
to distinguish ourselves as a premiere imaging site—one of only a
select few in the country. This gives us the means to carry out leading
neuroscience research that is expected to produce important results.”
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