To: Deans, Directors, and Department Heads
From: Jeff Moore, Director of the Beckman Institute
Date: July 26, 2019
Re: Purchase of a new 7 Tesla MRI Scanner
Yesterday, the University of Illinois Board of Trustees approved an investment in MRI technology: Campus will partner with Carle Foundation Hospital in purchasing a 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging scanner. The scanner will be located at Carle and will be used for both research and clinical applications. It’s the highest-strength MRI the Food and Drug Administration has approved for brain and knee scans. It’s expected to be up and running in 2021. (Note that this is separate from the 9.4 Tesla animal MRI that will be coming to Beckman next year.)
Because of the nature of our partnership with Carle, much of the purchasing process has been confidential until now. I’m glad to be able to share this news with you, and to ask for your assistance.
This 7 T scanner will be one of six in the country located in clinical settings. Carle’s Andrew Webb, director of clinical imaging research, and Tracey Wszalek, director of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology’s Biomedical Imaging Center (BIC), are working closely on this partnership.
To make the most of this unique opportunity for our campus, now is the time to leverage this investment for hiring faculty who add strength in the development and use of high-field magnetic resonance imaging. I believe this investment will be an excellent way to attract the best faculty members from a variety of fields. In the first several years, the Beckman Institute plans to offer pilot hours on the scanner, which could possibly be included in start-up packages to recruit faculty members who might benefit from this clinically placed MRI. We’re also open to other collaborations.
If you have thoughts and would like to discuss the possibilities for hiring and recruitment, please feel free to contact myself or IHSI Director Neal Cohen. We’re looking forward to the new research opportunities this scanner will create.
