In an Australian first, The University of Queensland (UQ) has entered into a landmark agreement with technology specialist Siemens, to install a powerful MRI system that is more than twice as strong as any other MRI system currently available in the Southern Hemisphere.
Funded by the Federal Government, with matching funds from UQ, the Siemens MAGNETOM 7T MRI is set to propel Australia’s research and development capabilities to global benchmarks.
It will be housed in the Centre for Advanced Imaging complex under construction at UQ’s St Lucia campus.
Centre for Advanced Imaging Director, Professor David Reutens said the new system would benefit important research programs into neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, stroke, epilepsy, motor neurone disease, brain tumours, and multiple sclerosis.
“The 7 Tesla system provides a quantum leap in imaging sensitivity, being 140,000 times stronger than the Earth’s magnetic field, enabling incredibly detailed images of human anatomy down to the cellular level," he said.
“The new system will be used on projects including the study of joint degeneration and injury, musculoskeletal pain and biomechanics, liver disease and the metabolic and molecular basis of disease.”
For the first time in this country, the Siemens MAGNETOM 7T MRI will make it possible to see microscopic details of human anatomy and function, with non-invasive imaging.
UQ Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Alan Lawson congratulated the Federal Government for its vision in supporting purchase of the 7T MRI instrument.
“The Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research is supporting the National Imaging Facility, for which UQ is the lead institution, through the Education Investment Fund," he said.
“This acknowledges that the 7T MRI is a piece of national research infrastructure, and will provide capability to the wider Australian research community.”
Siemens Healthcare Vice President Richard Guest said the 7T MRI system and the strong collaborative partnership between Siemens and UQ scientists would revolutionise research in Australia by overcoming the limitations of existing MRI technology.
“Siemens has led the way in partnering with luminary scientific organisations in order to develop the true potential of pioneering technologies such as the 7T MRI," he said.
“This evidences our forward thinking approach and we believe that this investment will lead to improved personalised healthcare, as recently highlighted by our Picture the Future research.
"Together with the UQ’s world class scientists, we will explore the next generation of ultra-high field MRI, which will play an integral role in helping to address some of the biggest health concerns for society at large.”
The Siemens MAGNETOM 7T MRI will be installed in the Centre for Advanced Imaging at The University of Queensland in early 2013.
Media:
Siemens Australia and New Zealand Public Relations Belinda White Tel: +61 (3) 9721 7590, Mobile: +61 (0) 448 400 180 Email: belinda.white@siemens.com
The University of Queensland: Lisa Jensen, telephone Tel: +61 7 3365 4235 ljensen@uq.edu.au or Jan King 0413 601 248
About the UQ Centre for Advanced Imaging
The Centre for Advanced Imaging (CAI) brings together the skills of a critical mass of researchers and state-of-the-art research imaging instruments for both molecular imaging with PET/CT and MR/PET and ultra high-field MRI imaging. These imaging techniques are key technologies for studying living organisms from the zebrafish to the human. Ultra high-field MRI characterizes structure and biochemistry to microscopic resolution. PET measures molecular markers of metabolism, receptor binding and gene expression. The CAI is unique in Australia, and there are very few comparable centres in the world. The CAI was created in 2009 as a strategic initiative of The University of Queensland (UQ) and reflects the growing role of imaging in cutting-edge biotechnology and biomedical research at UQ. http://www.cai.uq.edu.au/
About The University of Queensland
The University of Queensland (UQ) is one of Australia’s premier learning and research institutions. It is the oldest university in Queensland and has produced almost 197,000 graduates since opening in 1911. It is ranked in the top 1 per cent of academic institutions internationally in all the major global higher education rankings. UQ is a founding member of the national Group of Eight a coalition of leading Australian universities. Collectively, Group of Eight members account for 70 percent of all research income in Australia's university system, enrol more than half of all higher degree by research students, hold over 90 percent of US patents for inventions and generate 80 percent of spin-off companies created by Australian universities.
About the technology — Siemens MAGNETOM 7T MRI
Siemens is a world leader in MRI technology and applications development. More than 50 per cent of the world’s 7T MRI systems have come from Siemens. The system that will be installed by Siemens at The University of Queensland will be one of the first new generation whole body 7T MRI systems (many previous 7T systems could only image the head) and will also be one of the worlds’ first actively shielded 7T MRI systems. Active shielding makes it much easier to site a 7T, and avoids having to use hundreds of tonnes of Iron shielding to prevent the magnetic field interfering with the outside world. The introduction of the Siemens MAGNETOM 7T MRI will provide advanced morphological visualisation of the human anatomy previously only seen via dissection while enabling unprecedented observation and analysis of tissue metabolism and function in the human body.
The Siemens Picture the Future Healthcare research addresses Australia’s healthcare issues in light of the growing and ageing population, urbanisation, globalisation and climate change. The research looks at how technology can provide opportunities to improve the entire healthcare continuum (prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment and care) to achieve a truly preventative and accessible healthcare system by 2030. www.siemens.com.au/picturethefuture
About Siemens in Australia and New Zealand
Siemens commenced operations in Australia in 1872 and in New Zealand in 1876. Siemens is now recognised as of one of the most reliable and trusted brands in the region. With well-established businesses in both Australia and New Zealand, Siemens is a diversified technology-based solutions provider specialising in the areas of water, energy, environment, healthcare, productivity, mobility, safety and security. At the end of fiscal 2010 (September 2010), Siemens in Australia and New Zealand achieved AUD2.2 billion in sales with 2800 employees. Globally at the end of fiscal year 2010, revenue from the Environment Portfolio totalled EUR28 billion, making Siemens the world’s largest supplier of ecofriendly technologies. In the same period, the company’s products and solutions enabled customers to reduce their CO2 emissions by 270 million tonnes. This amount equals the combined annual CO2 emissions of New York, Tokyo, London and Berlin. Siemens in Australia and New Zealand is part of the Siemens global network of innovation which operates in 190 countries throughout the world. For more information, please contact Siemens in Australia on 137 222 and in New Zealand on +64 9 580 5500 or visit www.siemens.com.au
