General Description

Background

The Center for Advanced Imaging Research (CAIR) began at MUSC in 1995 as a multidisciplinary collaboration of the Departments of Radiology, Neurology and Psychiatry. CAIR investigators are a diverse team of psychiatrists, neurologists, neuroscientists, mathematicians, radiologists, physicists, and research assistants who meet weekly to review progress on various research projects, share findings from the latest journal articles, and plan additional research projects.

CAIR is also an integral component of the South Carolina Brain Imaging Center of Economic Excellence, an inter-institutional center within the Health Sciences South Carolina (HSSC) consortium that fosters translational research on brain structure, function, and dysfunction throughout the State of South Carolina.

Paul Morgan, PhD, was recruited in the Summer of 2008 from Nottingham, England to run the CAIR as part of his position in Radiology & Radiological Sciences at MUSC, and in addition provides consultation regarding study design, image acquisition, and data analysis.

Facilities

CAIR’s main facility is centered on a new stand-alone imaging research suite at 30 Bee Street, directly across the street from the main hospital, and houses a new Siemens 3T Trio MRI scanner, equipped with integrated fMRI paradigm presentation equipment, offering visual, auditory and olfactory stimulus delivery, with tactile and verbal feedback. The scanner and fMRI set-up have been designed to integrate seamlessly with other research MR scanners in South Carolina providing an excellent foundation for multi-center studies. The scanner operates with a 100% mandate for research use, as delineated in the state-approved certificate of need, and is covered by a master research agreement with Siemens Medical. Research access is coordinated and billed through CAIR and a web-based signup system. The suite also contains an image analysis laboratory and bioengineering facility along with patient interview and changing rooms. Researchers also have access to other equipment in associated departments, including clinical Siemens 1.5T and 3T Verio MR scanners as well as EEG and TMS facilities.

A significant component of CAIR is the informatics management system, which consists of an integrated system of Linux workstations surrounding a central core of Linux servers and a growing cluster facility, allowing network access for data retrieval and image analysis both locally and to CAIR members working remotely. A full-time informatics person manages the system, providing system design, trouble-shooting, data export, software maintenance, and systematic backup.

Software maintained for CAIR researchers covers a wide range of commonly used contemporary applications for medical image analysis, including SPM, FSL, AFNI, FreeSurfer, Slicer, MedINRIA, MRIcron, Java Image, ImageJ, Camino, jMRUI, and LCModel, as well as a range of more generic analysis tools.

Overall, the CAIR provides a comprehensive and efficient facility providing advanced magnetic resonance neuroimaging techniques to enable high-impact interdisciplinary research.