7 T small animal MR system

• Subject Area: Medicine
• Term: Funded in 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 445295857

A high-field small-animal MR system with a field strength of 7 T enables not only high-resolution imaging of anatomical structures but also sensitive functional and molecular imaging at a preclinical level. It will be used at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf to develop novel methods and protocols for specific medical questions and subsequently transfer these into the clinical routine. In this way, small animal MRI can valuably contribute to the optimization of patient-oriented diagnostics. In collaboration with other departments of the hospital and with external partners, the Center for Radiology and Endoscopy will, for example, investigate spectroscopic methods for the detection of brown adipose tissue or further develop the method of Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL). Multiparametric, quantitative imaging of heart and lung function or angiographic measurements in personalized aneurysm models will also be established on the small animal MRI and eventually adapted to the human scale.Moreover, the 7 T-device offers the possibility to perform biomedical studies longitudinally on one and the same animal. In accordance with the 3Rs principle, the required number of experimental animals can thus be reduced drastically. For example, the growth of a tumor or the extent of a stroke can be observed under certain immunological constellations without great effort or supplementary high stress for the animal. In addition, the in vivo migration of cells can be monitored using contrast agent labels – which may help to decipher the role of different immune cell types in disease models.As a service project the Center is also involved in the Collaborative Research Centre 841 "Liver Inflammation: Infection, Immune Regulation and Consequences" and thus has outstanding expertise in the visualization of hepatobiliary pathologies. This CRC is in its final, third funding period, in which many projects are nearing completion but rely on MR imaging for this purpose. During the funding period, close research collaborations have been established which will also extend beyond the end of the CRC 841. For example, MR diffusion weighting will be used in conjunction with the IVIM concept to functionally characterize liver and bile duct inflammation.In the field of experimental imaging, Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) is another of the Center's main focuses. This method has so far only been used preclinically. Using MPI, the spatial and temporal distribution of superparamagnetic iron oxide particles is imaged instead of the examined tissue itself. Therefore a coregistration with anatomical data is necessary in many cases. Due to its high soft tissue contrast, MRI offers an ideal basis for this.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: 7 T Kleintier MRT
• Instrumentation Group: 3231 MR-Tomographie-Systeme
• Applicant Institution: Universität Hamburg
• Leader: Professor Dr. Gerhard Adam