Longitudinal assessment of healthy brain structure and function across the lifespan using 9.4T Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Live Imaging of the human and animal brain, using Magnetic Resonance Imaging, has provided a wealth of information regarding the structural and functional properties of the brain across the lifespan, and identified markers associated with disease. Such specialised imaging modalities can also inform on the mechanisms and variance within populations across development and ageing. For this research to be world leading, the highest resolution scanners are required to provide accurate details of tissue structure and composition. We have an excellent, integrated infrastructure for human and animal brain imaging, but our old, animal MRI scanner needs to be replaced and upgraded, to allow us to see smaller changes in the brain structure, function, composition and connectivity and ensure our translational research remains world class.

We seek part funding for an advanced, 9.4T MRI scanner and ancillary equipment central to the work of Edinburgh Neuroscience, incorporating newly emerging technology to remain at the international forefront of neuroimaging research that is informing our understanding of brain development, midlife risk factors and ageing in animal models.

The 9.4T MRI scanner will be equipped with high performance gradients, multinuclear capability and a range of head and body coils. Brain coils will increase resolution for high-resolution structural imaging (e.g. T1, T2, T2*, FLAIR) and wide-ranging specialist imaging techniques (diffusion tensor, perfusion, permeability and magnetisation transfer imaging, functional MRI, multinuclear spectroscopy, angiographic and flow quantification).

The 9.4T scanner will replace a 7T MRI scanner, which is outdated technology unsupported by the company. It no longer meets the high specifications needed to be internationally-leading in high resolution structural/functional imaging and spectroscopy. The new 9.4T scanner is essential to provide a comprehensive range of high resolution in vivo imaging for our programmes of work understanding healthy brain development and ageing; disease progression or resilience in response to environmental stress; and mechanistic understanding of molecular pathways crucial for healthy development and ageing in our rodent models.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) allows visualisation of brain size, integrity and function in humans, large animals and small animals. This is a non-invasive method that is invaluable to understand the brain as it changes through the lifecourse from development to ageing. At present we have an old, unreliable 7 Tesla MRI scanner and will replace it with a 9.4T MRI scanner. The proposed purchase of the 9.4T MRI scanner will significantly improve our preclinical small animal MRI service to academics, namely, increased reliability of service and enhanced imaging capabilities.

The enhanced imaging capabilities will enable novel advanced protocols to measure different aspects of the brain: its size, structural integrity and functional connectivity. MR physicists, biologists and image analysts will have the technology to develop novel methodology to acquire the images and analyse them.

The developmental and ageing biologists will have access to the novel methodology as users of the 9.4T MRI facility. This will enable longitudinal analysis of imaging markers of development and ageing in each animal and then determine the variance of these markers in a population. The impact of the high resolution imaging data combined with other neurotechnical approaches will generate an enhanced impact on the outcomes of the research, for example high impact publications and increased
numbers of successful grant applications involving high resolution Imaging.

The relevance to human and large animal health is unquestionable, as the population variance in developmental and ageing processes are translated from rodents to large animals and man.