Brain & Mind Research Institute 3T MRI Facility

Imaging at the BMRI is conducted on a GE Discovery 750 whole body MRI scanner specifically equipped to conduct advanced neuroimaging. The system operates a short-bore magnet with the latest extreme resonance module incorporating fast gradients allowing high-speed structural and functional imaging. The system has up to 32-channel parallel imaging capabilities and is equipped with a range of head, neck and extremity coils.

The imaging facility is retrofitted with the latest tools required for sophisticated neuroimaging. The centre also carries physiological monitoring equipment as well as a power injector, in room gas, a full array of positioning aids, and a filtered access panel for ancillary transducers.

Visual stimuli presentation is achieved using Avotec’s Silent Vision MRI compatible video presentation system. An Avotec stereo two-way auditory system allows communication between the subject and researcher as well as the presentation of high quality stereo auditory stimuli. A Lumina (Cedrus) keypad system is available for logging subject behavioural responses and reaction times. The Lumina keypad is a fibre optic based system that eliminates all electrical interference associated with conventional response systems.

All systems are integrated into a turn-key imaging solution allowing rapid and effective paradigm design and execution. All functional imaging tools are interfaced onto a dedicated PC which also runs an extensive range of stimulus presentation software packages including EPrime, Presentation, Superlab and Cogent (for full details see software.)

All imaging tools have the capacity to interface to external PC hardware, including laptops. The scanner is also configured to transmit TTL trigger pulses (via a serial port) allowing the accurate triggering of the start of experimental paradigms as well as the logging of individual MR volumes.