Substantial investment by the Medical Research Council and the University of Nottingham has created an environment in Nottingham that is uniquely equipped to drive imaging innovation for experimental medicine. 

The MRI theme has established an academic and clinical collaboration network building on the world-leading, multidisciplinary Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre - which brings together expertise and a critical mass of MRI physicists, along with leading clinical academics - and the Precision Imaging Beacon. This University of Nottingham flagship research centre combines experts from medicine, physics, psychology, engineering, life sciences, computer science and applied mathematics.

Nottingham has a long track record of being at the forefront of biomedical imaging and in particular MRI development and the centre's range of unique and cutting-edge scanning and supporting equipment includes:

• MultiX capability at 7T
• a SpinLab polariser
• a CTIMP hyperpolarised 129Xe facility with MHRA-manufacturing site approval
• upright and wide-bore MRI scanners
• a new patient-friendly areas for children with a mock scanner to improve patient acceptability of MRI.

The Nottingham BRC Imaging also partners with Radiology at Nottingham University Hospitals, where a recently installed state-of-the art intraoperative MRI suite is available for imaging research focused on techniques for evaluating paediatric brain tumours. This will allow future BRC Imaging research, especially focused on microstructure and brain connectomics, access to high quality clinical imaging data, as well as strengthening partnership with the hospital’s Tessa Jowell Centres of Excellence.

Our multidisciplinary team of medical and application based-staff provide an ideal platform to use advanced MR imaging. This translational imaging is able to support studies ranging from pre-clinical models of disease through to clinical trials. Together with specialists from other medical fields, this combined approach will drive the acceleration of new discoveries.

You can read about developments in MRI technology which were discussed during a forum hosted by Nottingham BRC.