"FDA Reviewing Patient Use of 7 Tesla MRI "
Grant :
Biomedical Structural, Functional and Molecular Imaging Enterprise
The Wright Center in Bioimaging at Ohio State University houses both a 3 - Tesla and a 7 - Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, among the most powerful devices with human-imaging capabilities. (The gravitational pull of the 7-Tesla is estimated to be 140,000 times that of Earth.) These scanners allow for rapid imaging resolutions, providing faster, better studies of certain conditions and increased patient comfort. A clinical use of the 7-Tesla MRI is now under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Wright Center researchers are investigating the technology's advanced potential for functional imaging research in cancer, neuroscience and cardiovascular care that could reduce the need for exploratory surgery. Scientists are also developing new ways to aid understanding of disease using a powerful PET (positron emission tomography) scanner. As part of the Wright Center of Innovation the 7 Tesla MRI was built in collaboration with Phillips Medical of Cleveland. Phillips is now developing the 7 Tesla MRI scanner on a world-wide basis. Five sites now have the 7T MRI: OSU, Philips in Cleveland, University of Nottingham, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Zurich. With a price tag of around $8 million each, Philips has received orders to build another ten 7T MRIs, and has reasonable expectations of building another 50 over the next 2 to 3 years.
