New ‘weapon’ for brain researchers
A collaboration agreement between the University of Queensland (UQ) and Siemens Australia will boost research and development in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), leading to better diagnosis and treatment of degenerative diseases.
The agreement was signed in a ceremony last month by UQ vice chancellor Professor Peter Høj and Toby Carrington, vice president finance for Siemens Healthcare in Australia and New Zealand.
Professor Høj said the agreement demonstrated how research could be enhanced through collaboration, leading to results that benefited society.
“UQ has a strong track record in magnetic resonance research, with most of the MRI scanners in the world using technology developed by UQ’s Professor Stuart Crozier,” Professor Høj said.
“This collaboration with Siemens, a globally operating technology company and a world leader in magnetic resonance, is a perfect fit with UQ’s strength in this area.”
Professor Høj said the agreement focused specifically on research enabled by the powerful Siemens MAGNETOM 7 Tesla (7T) scanner, the first 7T whole-body MRI scanner in the Southern Hemisphere, which was installed at UQ’s Centre for Advanced Imaging (CAI) this year.
Funded by the federal government’s Education Investment Fund initiative, the prestige MRI scanner is also a flagship imaging capability for the National Imaging Facility UQ node, which is located at CAI.
“The addition of the 7T scanner, along with the recent installation of Siemens scanners at the Herston Imaging Research Facility, enhances UQ’s capacity to be a global leader in imaging research,” Professor Høj said.
Mr Carrington said Siemens was proud to be part of this strong and long term collaborative partnership centred around high end research technology.
“What’s really exciting about this collaboration isn’t so much the technology, but the application of this technology by Australian researchers who now have an extraordinary new weapon in their arsenal to better understand and ultimately fight diseases and their progression,” said Mr Carrington.
“One thing we realised very early on is that technology can’t reach its full potential inside a Siemens factory. To really advance human health we need partnerships like this where the best technology is combined with Australia’s brightest research minds.
“The new collaboration agreement is the foundation of a common goal to exploit the full potential and benefits of whole body 7Tesla MRI. The research program will help find answers to the world’s most challenging healthcare questions.
“The research work done here will show a new level of leadership and inspiration in adapting to next generation technology that is needed to unlock new healthcare discoveries.”
Leading Ultra High Field MRI researcher, Associate Professor Markus Barth, has moved to UQ from the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour in The Netherlands to work with the new scanner. As the NIF Facility Fellow for the 7T system, Associate Professor Barth will be supporting researchers across Australia.
“The research agreement is a great opportunity to translate top research done by the researchers at the Centre for Advanced Imaging into clinical and research applications for improved diagnostics of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy, as well as joint degeneration and injury,” Associate Professor Barth said.
