Seeing things differently

The recent installation of three clinical scanners at the soon-to-open Herston Imaging Research Facility (HIRF), along with the signing of a collaborative agreement between the University of Queensland (UQ) and Siemens Australia, sees Queensland taking the lead in imaging research for the nation.

The HIRF, which is due to open in August this year, is a new world-class imaging facility dedicated to clinical research based at the Brisbane Metro North Hospital and Health Service Herston precinct. It is an alliance between UQ, the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Queensland University of Technology and the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, with healthcare company Siemens as industry partner.

The new scanners offer hybrid imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography scanning in a single machine, combining anatomical, molecular and functional processes that will help researchers improve understanding of disease and determine whether treatments are effective more quickly.

The collaborative agreement between UQ and Siemens aims to boost R&D in MRI and ultimately improve the diagnosis and treatment of degenerative diseases.

The agreement focuses on research enabled by Siemen’s whole-body MRI scanner, the Magnetom 7 Tesla (7T), which has been installed at UQ’s Centre for Advanced Imaging (CAI).

Funded by the federal government’s Education Investment Fund initiative, the MRI scanner is also a flagship imaging capability for the UQ node of the National Imaging Facility, which is located at CAI.

Leading ultra-high field MRI researcher Associate Professor Markus Barth moved to UQ from the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour in The Netherlands to work with the new scanner.

As the NIF Facility Fellow for the 7T system, Associate Professor Barth will support researchers to connect state-of-the-art imaging capabilities across Australia.