Background

In the early 1990s, as MR imaging was gaining momentum internationally as a tool for basic and applied research in physiology, researchers at the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center began exploring the possibility of acquiring a high-field MR imaging system for research use. Initially, a small bore system was considered for purchase but as various divisions and departments began to express interest in using such a system for research in human subjects, the decision was made to obtain a system that could accommodate humans. By 1993, Bruker Medizintechnik had developed a 3 Tesla MR imaging scanner based on a 60 cm bore magnet of their own design. The IRC bought the 3rd system manufactured and the second one to be installed in the United States, after the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). The IRC was able to borrow a good deal of information on the operation of this Bruker Biospec 30/60 from our colleagues at MCW under the direction of Prof. James Hyde. There were several exchange visits between the two groups in the early stages of operation which avoided some of the growing pains expected of a new prototype system.

Following installation and acceptance of the system and the arrival of Scott Holland as the Scientific Director of the IRC in 1994, the scanner began operation with an Aspect 3000 computer with the UXNMR software interface and ABX analog electronics. This configuration functioned adequately for a host of applications including conventional imaging, microscopic imaging, various small animal studies, in vivo spectroscopy and even 2D Chemical Shift Imaging (CSI).

With continuing upgrades to take advantage of the latest in digital electronics and CPU power, the Biospec 30/60 is still a state-of-the-art research MR imaging scanner. It now has fully digital AVANCE electronics. The system is used extensively in human, animal and phantom studies using various NMR methods. With pulse programming and automatic preemphasis adjustments, Drs. Schmithorst and Dardzinski made this MR imaging system a truly dynamic system with adequate echo-planar imaging capabilities for advanced functional and diffusion tensor applications.