[From left to right] Rhodri Cusack - Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin and Sarah McElroy - Siemens Healthineers MRI Scientist at Trinity College Dublin, with the MAGNETOM Prisma MRI scanner from Siemens Healthineers
The first MAGNETOM Prisma 3T MRI system in Ireland has been installed to support researchers at Trinity College Dublin as they conduct a series of neuroscience projects including research into brain development, Alzheimer’s and autism. Trinity College will benefit from the MAGNETOM Prisma’s powerful 3T magnet, expanding facilities for research with high anatomical detail in demanding conditions.
Trinity College, Ireland’s highest-ranked university, replaces existing MRI facilities in the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience as they begin the FOUNDCOG infant imaging project. The university has partnered with Siemens Healthineers, installing the new MAGNETOM Prisma 3T MRI and jointly deploying a dedicated MRI scientist to support the project with insights from the research and development team at Siemens Healthineers.
The new equipment is set to expand neuroscience research capabilities at the university with the FOUNDCOG infant imaging project, one of three projects commencing at Trinity College. The project aims to improve understanding of brain development during the first year after birth and includes scope for investigation into possible disruptions caused by preterm birth or neonatal brain injury. The MAGNETOM Prisma will also be used in projects seeking to establish early biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease, and a study exploring the biology of autism to tailor treatments and develop new medicines.
The MAGNETOM Prisma offers a unique platform and powerful 3T magnet, designed to sustain demanding MRI research challenges with outstanding gradient performance and minimised acoustic noise. Tim 4G integrated receive architecture with real-time feedback loop supports unprecedented long-term stability, whilst TimTX TrueShape provides fully dynamic parallel transmission for significantly higher resolution and reduced scan times.
“We selected the MAGNETOM Prisma from Siemens Healthineers based on its advanced capabilities aligning with the complex requirements of our upcoming projects,” states Rhodri Cusack, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin. “Some of the features, like the rapid and robust multiband imaging, will be helpful in the FOUNDCOG infant imaging project. Others, like our PREVENT research into biomarkers of Alzheimer’s, will benefit from a consistent platform across collaborating sites such as King’s College London and Cambridge University. The introduction of this system places Trinity College Dublin at the cutting edge of MRI development. I am very excited about the potential for deep learning methods to accelerate MRI and make it even more robust.”
“The MAGNETOM Prisma has a proven track record of research and clinical success. Use of the system for neuroscience research will afford Trinity College benefits in terms of exceptional performance, and access to the Siemens Healthineers research community,” states Craig Buckley, Head of Research and Scientific Collaborations at Siemens Healthineers GB&I. “We are also pleased to be supporting the team with the placement of a dedicated MRI scientist who will help support the FOUNDCOG infant imaging project. This is a great way for us to contribute to these exciting research themes and we’re excited to see the outcomes of this system for the benefit of neuroscience.”
