Metabolic/gas exchange system - PROJECT SUMMARY This application requests funding to purchase a Metabolic/Gas Exchange system. The state-of- the-art Metabolic Gas Exchange system is the only system with accessories made compatible with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to acquire a wide range of breath-by-breath gas exchange and pulmonary function parameters. In addition, a set of comprehensive vital monitoring tools will be equipped to ensure the safety of the research subjects and the needs of physiological recordings in different clinical and hardware/software development research at the Martinos Center, across different departments at MGH, as well as different institutions in the Boston area. The proposed Metabolic/Gas Exchange system is especially important to ensure the continuity of the existing funded projects and the synergistic research in the future. The system not only serves as a replacement of the existing equipment constructed with separate pieces of outdated devices that are nearly worn out but also provides a wider opportunity for synergizing research in the study of brain activity in association with pulmonary function and gas exchange. For example, one major area in the near future is mechanistic and clinical research for the potential upcoming rehabilitation pandemic of long COVID, which involves studying the interaction between the brain, pulmonary system, and cardiovascular system. The proposed Metabolic/Gas Exchange system will be located within the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, MGH. The Martinos Center has a renowned biomedical imaging program, consistently producing successes with imaging modalities such as MRI, magnetoencephalography (MEG), positron emission tomography (PET), and optical imaging. The proposed system will be fully utilized in the existing and future imaging research on this successful imaging platform for the users at Martinos Center and the other institutions in Boston.
