MOUSE CARDIAC ARRAY COIL FOR 7 TESLA MRI SCANNER

Procurement Summary

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) requires a mouse heart array coil for cardiac MRI at 7 Tesla. This coil will support cardiovascular studies of transgenic and wild type mice as a function of aging using NIA’s Biospec 70/30 MRI scanner. On both clinical and preclinical MRI scanners, most imaging is performed using a combination of a body coil, which surrounds the subject and transmits radio waves to excite nuclear spins, and a small surface coil or array, which receives the resulting radio-frequency signal from the area of interest, e.g. the heart. On NIA’s Bruker Biospec 70/30 MRI scanner, the receive-only coil is an array with a size and shape tailored to fit the anatomy of interest. We have such array coils for mouse head and body imaging but not for cardiac imaging. Matching the size, shape and location of the mouse heart is important for receiving signal from the entire heart while maximizing signal-to-noise ratio. Given the small size of the mouse heart, its rapid contraction cycle and the limited time available to scan live animals under anesthesia, having a receive-only coil optimized for mouse cardiac imaging is key to generating reliable results for quantitative analysis. Since studies of cardiac aging in mice often hinge on detecting subtle differences in chamber volumes, wall thicknesses and muscle composition, we feel that purchasing a dedicated mouse cardiac coil is justified by our research needs.

Yes

Yes