Peering inside the human body at organs, tumors and real-time living processes without making a single incision or invasive procedure was once the thing of science fiction. But the ability to produce high-resolution images of soft tissue using magnetic fields, electric currents, radio waves and water molecules – not scalpels – is very real, and it's happening every day in the basement of the Bioscience Research Laboratories building, or BSRL.

"It all seems very Star Treky to me," Andrew Rouse, an associate research scientist and director of the Translational Bioimaging Resource, or TBIR, said, referring to the “tricorder” Dr. Leonard McCoy used on the Enterprise. Long fascinated by biomedical imaging, Rouse is especially interested in the scientific and clinical applications of magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI.

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With imaging equipment such as MRI, ultrasound, computed tomography, positron emission tomography, single-photon emission computerized tomography and bioluminescence scanning, the TBIR is the core resource for pre-clinical biomedical imaging and is regularly used by researchers in the U of A’s Colleges of Science, Medicine and Pharmacy, as well as Engineering, Optical Sciences and Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences. Industry partners include those working in biomedical research, medical device development, animal sciences, entomology and even the arts.

With the ability to image humans, small and large animals and even cells, TBIR plays a vital role in studying cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, traumatic brain injuries, heart disease, inflammation, post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, and many other conditions.

“Images made using computed tomography, or CT, and positron emission tomography, or PET, are able to show incredible detail, but because of the risks of overexposure to radiation for living subjects, they cannot be repeatedly used in pre-clinical research,” Rouse said. “MRI, in contrast, poses no risk to living organisms, so it can be used over and over again to image the same area. This is especially critical, for instance, when monitoring tumor growth or memory loss.”

With an average price tag of $1 million per Tesla, a measure of magnetic field strength, MRI machines are too expensive for independent research labs to purchase and maintain themselves. The most powerful MRI in the TBIR uses a three Tesla magnet and is in very high demand. Beyond the cost of the equipment, MRIs require specialized maintenance contracts, highly trained technical experts, low-temperature liquid helium to maintain the magnetic field and ear protection from the infamously loud noise the machines produce.

Once within an MRI machine, the subject is surrounded by a superconducting magnet that is lined with wire coils. The coils use electric current to modify the magnetic fields in the X, Y and Z planes so that the system can pinpoint the tissue being imaged. The interaction between these rapidly changing electrical currents and the main magnetic field creates forces that physically vibrate the system and produce very loud noises. These noises can be surprising to some patients, especially those with PTSD.

One new study using the MRI is looking at the role support dogs may have in minimizing stress in veterans with PTSD. In the first part of the study, the veteran receives a brain scan prior to getting their support animal. In the second part, after living with the support dog, the veteran undergoes a second scan, this time with the dog within visual or touching distance from them. Even though the dogs have practiced being around loud noises, they are equipped with specialized ear protection. This study will help researchers evaluate how the calming influence of the animal may affect the brain.

TBIR has four MRI machines, each offering different Tesla strengths, subject bore sizes – the space in which the subject lies prone or is positioned – and different software to accommodate the use of AI or to develop new protocols for differing research purposes. 

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“There are, in fact, investigators on campus who are studying MRI itself in order to develop new imaging techniques and new protocols to enable researchers to image things faster, to improve imaging resolution or to see things we're not currently able to see,” Rouse said.

In every research case, TBIR’s technical experts help guide investigators to the best equipment and even help develop protocols for answering the research question. 

Even in cases where researchers outside the U of A bring in items to scan – items like fossil dinosaur eggs or found animal bones – TBIR technicians develop protocols to enable the best imaging outcomes. 

Another service TBIR experts perform is training undergraduate and graduate students who work in the research labs to use the equipment. 

“Working with students is one of the most rewarding aspects of the job,” Rouse said. “We want to treat them with respect and encourage their enthusiasm. We enjoy teaching them and nurturing their excitement about the fascinating science and technology of imaging.”

To learn more, contact  tbir@arizona.edu or iLabs.