New UT-Medical School Scanner Only "One of Two" in Entire Southwest

A picture is worth a thousand words. And in the world of radiology, it can also mean ascertaining the nature of a disease at anatomical, biochemical and physiological levels. A new in vivo high field Magnetic Resonance Imaging 7T scanner, housed at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, is allowing researchers to do precisely that. The scanner focuses primarily on in vivo serial studies to characterize and follow a disease's progression, and evaluate the efficacy of treatment in live animals. With the exception of the University of Florida in Gainesville, it's the only instrument of its kind in the entire southern United States.

Housed in liquid helium at an incredibly cold temperature of -269 degrees Celsius, the 7,000 pound scanner requires no external power. A current of 152 amperes continuously flows through the superconducting coil wire wrapped around the cylinder.

Dr. P.A. Narayana is a professor and director of magnetic resonance research in the UT-Houston Medical School's Department of Radiology. Fulfilling a life-long dream for the scientist, the new scanner will be used to study spinal cord and brain injuries, stroke, and atherosclerotic plaques.

"We expect to be able to scan rats, rabbits, and small monkeys," says Dr. Narayana. "We utilize procedures such as imaging and observing the distribution of water in the body to make certain distinctions."

Since human bodies are 70 percent water and a rich source of lipids, carbons, and other related compounds, Dr. Narayana says the new scanner will help discover methods to repair tissue in the spinal cord and brain. The machine also will image genetically engineered mice and follow their tissues' biochemistry and metabolism in vivo, adds Dr. Narayana.

Dr. Narayana holds an array of honors, including a ten-year history of National Institutes of Health reviews in the neurological sciences. He belongs to the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, the International Society of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, the New York Academy of Sciences, and the Society for Computer Applications in Radiology. Dr. Narayana has 124 full-length referred publications and numerous review articles. He collaborates with several colleagues, including Dr. Jerry Wolinsky in UT-Medical School's Department of Neurology. Dr. Wolinsky is a leading international figure in treating multiple sclerosis.

Dr. Narayana also is part of "Mission Connect," a consortium of researchers from the various Texas Medical Center institutions and The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Sponsored by the Texas Institute for Rehabilitation and Research, Mission Connect's goal is to develop the "very best tools and techniques to treat spinal cord injuries."

"Now with the scanner we can design new techniques to look at the various diseases of live animals. Our work will analyze the resulting physiology, biochemistry and in vivo metabolism," says Dr. Narayana.

With multi-scientist collaboration, his formula for success is within reach - almost real-time anatomical and metabolic imaging of live animals.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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