Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the most flexible and powerful non-invasive diagnostic imaging technique available to clinical medicine. MRI as a largely qualitative tool is well established. As a non-invasive method, MRI is principally used to visualize the internal structure of biological systems through mapping the spatial position of hydrogen (water). The magnetic resonance signal lifetimes and molecular diffusion usually manifest qualitatively in the MR image contrast. Quantitative analysis of these parameters will reveal molecular scale information, since magnetic resonance is sensitive to a range of physical/chemical characteristics including molecular structure, motion, size and interactions, through the measurements of signal lifetime and molecular diffusion. The potential for quantitative MR has been recognized. However, significant methodological developments are still required for this potential to be fully realized. The University of Windsor has launched a Medical Physics research program, aiming to develop MRI as a quantitative analytical methodology. Our Medical Physics research will greatly benefit a large number of research programs in natural science and engineering. However, a lack of equipment will frustrate this potential. The requested instrument will enable significant hands-on training for HQP, performing MRI experiments as well as creating new MRI experiments.