MRI Faculty
Robert Freedman, MD, Director
Yiping Du, PhD, Technical Director Jason Tregellas, PhD, Associate Director
Debra Singel, MRI Technologist
The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) facility houses a research-dedicated GE 3 Tesla whole-body MRI scanner. The primary research focus is understanding the neurobiology of substance abuse and addiction. The scanner also is used to study other cognitive processes and disorders, including schizophrenia, autism, executive control and attention, eating behaviors and disorders, white matter diseases and to develop novel MR physics methods. In addition to anatomical imaging, techniques commonly used on the scanner include functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), MR spectrocopy, and diffucion tensor imaging (DTI).
The scanner is equipped with high performance gradient coils (maximum gradient amplitude of 40 mT/m and maximum slew rate of 150 T/m/s), a head volume RF coil, an 8-channel phased-array head coil, and a wholebody RF coil. It is housed in 2600 sq. ft new construction at the new Anschutz campus of the University of Colorado Denver. The system recently has been upgraded with the capability of acquiring MR data using 8 channels simultaneously. A variety of means to display stimuli, record responses, and monitor the subjects are available. These include a rear projection system, a goggle system with an eye-tracker (Resonance Technology Inc.), headphones (Resonance Technology Inc.), four-button response boxes, a joystick, a high-speed eye-tracking system (Cambridge Research Systems), and an MR compatible physiological monitor (Medrad 9500). The Center also has an MRI compatible 64-channel EEG system (NeuroScan). A DICOM server is available for easy transfer of data from the Brain Imaging Center to various labs at the Denver and Boulder campuses.