Current Research CORE Scanners:

• Siemens MAGNETOM Prisma 3.0T
• UAB Highlands

The Research MRI center houses a research-dedicated Siemens Prisma 3.0T whole-body MRI system, the most powerful 3T scanner commercially available for structural, functional, and spectroscopic brain and body imaging. Its architecture also allows for future upgrades, making it excellent for basic and translational research.

The Prisma is designed to withstand the strains of high-duty cycle sequences and to operate at maximum performance during prolonged experiments, unlike clinical systems.

This equipment is based on a super-homogeneous 3T magnet with 80 mT/m, 200 T/m/s gradients and 3rd order shims. This system includes advanced parallel transmit technology for 3D localized excitation, which enables zooming into specific body regions for enhanced image quality and resolution.

An MR-safe BOLD++ screen can be placed behind bore of the magnet, allowing visual stimuli to be presented, visible through a mirror oriented above the participant’s eyes. The same infrared reflective mirror can be used to monitor a participant’s eye movements using an Eyelink 1000 scanner-compatible infrared eye tracker from SR research. Auditory stimuli can be presented using the Etymotics MR-compatible ER-30 sound isolating insert earphones, allowing stimuli to be clearly discriminated from the sounds of the MRI scanner.

Furthermore, integrated receive coil technology offers further imaging flexibility and supports advanced anatomical, functional, and spectroscopic imaging, opening new possibilities for understanding functional and developmental processes and diseases.

Additional Scanners: