Upgrade of the 11.7T Research Scanner at the F.M. Kirby Research Center - We propose to upgrade the 11.7T horizontal bore Bruker animal scanner at the F.M. Kirby Research Center of the Hugo Moser Research Institute at Kennedy Krieger (KKI) from the current AVANCE IIIHD generation (installed in 2011 and no longer supported after 2024) to the AVANCE NEO generation. Multiple parts of the scanner have been failing and will have surpassed their expected lifetime after 2024. Scanner replacement is necessary to keep providing working and state-of-the-art equipment to the many investigators at KKI and Johns Hopkins University (JHU), who have 15 NIH- funded grants and 2 other grants with specific aims that strongly benefit from the technical capabilities provided by this upgrade. These investigators use the 11.7T system for structural MRI, functional MRI (fMRI), quantitative physiological MRI, magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and spectroscopic imaging (MRSI), advanced diffusion imaging approaches, and chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI for the study of animal models for a large range of diseases and disabilities. The main hardware features of importance for us in the NEO upgrade are the new 8-channel transceiver system and the high-performance high-duty cycle combined gradient/shim system with 1- µs gradient waveform generation. In addition, we are requesting several coils, coil accessories, and a high-end animal monitoring unit for optimal experiments for our users. These combined upgrades will bring us again to state-of-the-art MRI hardware with respect to commercially available optimal magnetic field gradient performance and multi-channel whole-body transceive capabilities (both homonuclear and heteronuclear), including the latest coils and accessories. In addition, our 14-year old computer would be upgraded and the Paravision 6 software replaced by Paravision 360, which would provide us with additional advanced data acquisition and processing software, including for instance: in-plane parallel imaging, simultaneous multi-slice (SMS) imaging with multi-band (MB) pulses, as well as reduced k-space acquisition approaches such as compressed sensing (CS). This upgrade will provide multiple benefits for our users, including but not limited to: reduced echo time TE and repetition time TR, improved SNR, and greatly increased speed when using in- plane acceleration, SMS, or CS. Other advantages are reduced spatial distortion, improved B1 and B0 homogeneities, real time updating for dynamic shimming, drift compensation and motion monitoring. Improved frequency stability will provide benefits for a) improved signal intensity stability for dynamic scans; b) absence of spatial image drift under high duty cycle gradient use such as in high-angular multi-shell diffusion imaging; c) reduced spatial broadening and improved spectral editing with selective pulse excitation for MRS; d) improved CEST frequency referencing.
