BMR News & Events
Bioinstrumentation and Research Status Update
What instrumentation/services should we have that is not currently available that would aid our research?
On a short term basis we are planning to acquire several upgrades for our existing MRI and NMR instruments. In particular, we want to include eddy-current compensation for Z-B0. This will allow us to perform echo-planar experiments where gradients are switched in a fast manner. Cost for this upgrade is approximate $15,000.
The 4.7 Tesla Biospec magnet has a slow leak in the dewar. We are managing to keep the magnet up and running by evacuating the dewar
regularly. As long as the leak stays at the same level we expect no major repair except for the periodic evacuation times. Nevertheless, we
expect to replace the magnet in the future. Cost for a new magnet is approximately $350,000.
In the near future we plan to acquire a horizontal bore magnet for the 9.4 Tesla system. This will enable us to study rats and larger mice at that field strength. Horizontal magnets have larger bore size then vertical magnets and enable the use of monitor equipment which is needed for in vivo experiments. Cost of such a magnet is approximately $200,000.
A possibility is the acquisition of a 9.4 to 11.7 Tesla Biospec system. Such a system will improve resolution and sensitivity for localized spectroscopy and imaging. This is an important factor when studying metabolites in tumors. Cost of such a system is more or less.
