Auburn is home to the first field-installed, clinically approved whole-body Terra.X 7 Tesla MRI scanner, expanding the window for cutting-edge research and public use.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Gopikrishna Deshpande wants to see the brain in action.<\/span><\/p>\n
How does information between billions of neurons flow within this cerebral superhighway? What functional details impact decision-making or even clinical disorders such as autism or Alzheimer\u2019s? \n<\/span><\/p>\n
Now, he can.<\/span><\/p>\n
The recently approved $9 million Siemens MAGNETOM Terra.X 7 Tesla (7T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner inside the Auburn University Neuroimaging Center takes researchers to places they\u2019ve never been and provides them with detailed, ultra-high-resolution images they previously could not study. The world\u2019s first field-installed, clinically-approved parallel transmit 7T MRI scanner complements the center\u2019s 3T scanner, part of its original equipment that\u2019s still used today. <\/span><\/p>\n
\u201c3T scanners are standard in clinical practice today, and you get a fairly good view of what\u2019s happening in the brain \u2014 but you miss a lot of the details,\u201d said Deshpande, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, who specializes in signal\/image processing. \u201cBecause the brain is such a complex organ with billions of neurons and trillions of connections, the devil is in the details. As researchers, we want to have as much detailed depiction, with high-resolution images, as possible. Now we can gain a better understanding of basic science. Once this understanding is obtained, we can begin to translate this to clinical conditions. What is happening in their brain? Which connections inside the brain are not working as they should? Once we better understand this, it becomes easier to devise interventions and therapies.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
For Auburn University, installing the powerful whole-body Terra.X 7 Tesla scanner was\u2026 a no-brainer.<\/span><\/p>\nEnhanced MRI capabilities at Auburn University spill over to enhanced research projects across campus, including veterinary medicine, psychological sciences and engineering.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u201cThe university is sitting on a gold mine in terms of data and capabilities,\u201d said Thomas Denney, director of the Auburn University Neuroimaging Center and the Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Donnellan & Family Endowed Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. \u201cThis machine puts us on the map in the MRI universe, and it allows us to play in a sandbox that we couldn\u2019t play in before. Additional equipment like this new 7T puts us in the same category as the nation\u2019s large medical research centers and allows us to hire people we could not have hired before.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n
What makes this 7T scanner so powerful? Denney said updated scanners are fitted with parallel transmit technology and sodium imaging capability. Why is this important?<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cWith our old 7T, if we did an MRI scan of the brain in certain regions, you wouldn\u2019t receive uniform coverage of the brain,\u201d Denney said. \u201cThat\u2019s because we had only one transmit channel \u2014 like a flashlight inside a large room with only one beam. By comparison, our new Terra.X 7 provides us with eight beams of light that illuminate the brain and provide a more uniform image. Sodium imaging technology is important because it can measure how much sodium is in your brain regionally and identify abnormalities.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n
Steve Taylor, senior vice president for research and economic development, said the university has opportunities to solve mysteries previously left unexplained. <\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cImpactful, multi-disciplinary research remains one of the foundations of our rich history as a university, and the door is open to creative explorations into neuroscience that we, or no peer institution, had previously,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m excited to watch researchers from across campus take advantage of this powerful resource.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n
Denney noted that Auburn researchers, many whom have already utilized the center\u2019s previous 7T and 3T equipment, will take advantage of this new avenue. Fresh research explorations already underway include:<\/span><\/p>\n
\u2022 Meredith Reid, assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering, is exploring post-traumatic stress disorder biomarkers in senior adults via spectroscopy.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u2022 Jennifer Robinson, professor in psychological sciences, compares brain connectivity between healthy populations and those with mental illness, focusing on cognition and emotions.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u2022 Adil Bashir, associate professor in electrical and computer engineering, is studying muscle and brain energy production capacity on the cells and determining mitochondrial metabolic homeostasis using phosphorus spectroscopy.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u2022 Doug Martin, director of the Scott-Ritchey Research Center and professor of anatomy, physiology and pharmacology at the College of Veterinary Medicine, is using MRI and spectroscopy to measure the effect of gene therapy for Tay-Sachs disease in animal models.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cOur vision is to become a leading center for MRI research with emphasis on brain imaging, cardiovascular imaging and orthopedic imaging,\u201d Denney said. \u201cThese areas represent an intersection between the needs of the MRI research community, particularly in 7T imaging, and existing expertise and strengths of Auburn University.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
The Center\u2019s previous 7T system, installed in 2012 and removed, was an investigational-only device. <\/span><\/p>\n
The university\u2019s open bore 3T scanner, installed in 2010 and upgraded to a Siemens Skyra in 2021, remains on site and will continue to be utilized.<\/span><\/p>\n
Turn the clock back to February 2010.<\/span><\/p>\n
Auburn football was months away from kicking off an unexpected national championship football season; Jay Gogue was in his first term as Auburn University president; Larry Benefield was dean of engineering; and, what originally opened as the Auburn University MRI Research Center, a ribbon was ceremoniously cut on a <\/span>$20 million, 45,000-square foot facility. <\/span><\/p>\n
Since then, the center has seen tremendous updates in technology and received a new name: the Thomas Walter MRI Research Building at the Auburn Research Park. <\/span><\/p>\n
Its namesake, Thomas Walter, \u201855 engineering physics, made a generous gift to the center in 2021 that would eventually make the purchase of the new 7T possible.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cI dreamed of building an MRI research program here at Auburn where large medical centers recognize our contributions,\u201d Denney said. \u201cThrough research, Auburn University has moved the needle and more than exceeded my expectations. Since opening this building, we\u2019ve been able to double our staff. Those machines are great, but people are the ones who write research papers, and people are the ones who earn those research grants.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n
People like Deshpande.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cMRI research has come a long way \u2014 and it will continue to evolve,\u201d Deshpande said. \u201cBut I\u2019m proud that Auburn University is a leading player in this field as my colleagues and myself continue to explore the unexplored, explain the unexplained and provide impactful research to improve the quality of life for all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
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