Wright Center of Innovation in Biomedical Imaging

• Goals of Funding

  Goals of the funding include:

  • The creation of an ultra-high-field 7 Tesla MRI scanner, which will reduce the need for exploratory surgery and permit doctors to closely monitor the effects of medications. It will enable functional imaging research in cancer, neuroscience and cardiovascular care at Ohio State
    
  • Development of a new and more powerful PET scanner to help physicians better understand disease processes and treatment
    
  • Exploration into mobile imaging facilities and remote access systems that would facilitate advanced diagnostic and imaging capabilities in the field during quickly changing and demanding biohazard events
    
  • Organization of a powerful, extensive imaging and bioinformatics infrastructure that will integrate the state's scientific community into a virtual think tank for research and development
    
  • Provide startup funding in the amount of $1 million for support of innovative and promising imaging projects

• Equipment at This Location

  The Wright Center of Innovation in Biomedical Imaging is a state-of-the-art 26,000 square-foot outpatient and research facility adjacent to The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center outpatient facility, Martha Morehouse Medical Plaza. Approximately one third of the facility is dedicated to animal preparation including two separate animal exam rooms and animal holding areas. The area has suitable air handling, animal exam tables, anesthesia machines and supplies for veterinary animal care.

  • One 3T clinical MRI (Achieva, Philips, Cleveland, Ohio)
    
  • One 7T human, preclinical MRI (Achieva, Philips, Cleveland, Ohio)
    
  • 64-slice Mobile PET/CT system (Philips, Cleveland, Ohio)

• Equipment at This Location

  The facility houses a 4.7T/40 cm magnet that is controlled by a Bruker Avance Console allowing for MR imaging and spectroscopy of:
  

  • Medium sized animals (less than 20 cm) using the 260 mm inner diameter gradient coil (max. 100 mT/m, 280 microseconds rise time, diameter of spherical volume: 18.0 cm, shielded, water cooled) with a 200 mm inner diameter proton volume RF coil   
  • Small animals (less than seven cm) using the 120 mm inner diameter gradient coil (max. 400 mT/m, 170 microseconds rise time, diameter of spherical volume: 8.0 cm, shielded, water cooled) with a 72 mm inner diameter proton volume RF coil

  The Bruker Avance console uses an HP LINUX ParaVision workstation, controls a 13-order room temperature shim coil, has dual RF transmit channels (6-220 MHz, one kWatt pulsed with 100 Watt CW; other nuclei, one kWatt pulsed with 100 Watt CW) with dual broad-band frequency synthesizers, quadrature detection receiving system with a sampling rate of two MHz and combined one H /19F and 13C/14N/23Na preamplifiers and 2D/31P and 3He exchangeable filters.
  
  The system is equipped with the Bruker BioTrig monitoring unit for the display of physiological monitoring and for synchronization of MR acquisitions by using ECG or respiration triggering signals. The system is equipped with respiratory sensory pads, a temperature probe, a set of ECG electrodes and a laptop PC.

• Instrument Access and Request for Usage

  Cost for instrument access
  
  Cost of operation and maintenance of the facility will be shared by the users. Based on initial estimates for the annual operating budget (personnel costs, instrument maintenance and supplies) and comparison with rates at comparable facilities the following rates have been established. Budget, costs and rates will be reviewed annually.

  • $320/hour for commercial and out-of-state users
  • $200/hour reduced rate for in-state academic users
  • $1200/day reduced daily rate for in-state academic users

  One-time free access for 10 hours will be given to new start-up projects.
  
  Additional charges (these charges will be assessed if not provided by user).

  • Animal handling including gas anesthesia (equipment loan from ULAR) and supplies, e.g. isoflurane (at cost)
  • Data analysis 
  • MRI contrast agent at cost
  • Usage of computer workstations

• Imaging Modalities

  The following are core modalities and services of the Imaging Core Laboratory that is staffed by a multi-disciplinary team:

  • PET and CT
  • CT
  • MRI
  • X-ray
  • Mammography
  • Nuclear medicine studies
  • Preclinical validation for translational studies including uCT, uPET/CT, uSPECT/CT

• MRI and MRS

  In final stages of development for core lab services:

  • SPECT and CT
  • MRS
  • Neurofunctional imaging

  Additional generic imaging services are offered:

  • Imaging trial design and GCP compliance
  • Blinded read of diagnostic and therapy assessment studies with electronic tracking
  • Trial progress assessment and reporting
  • Site qualification
  • Site training and QA oversight
  • Compliance review
  • External trial review
  • Site visit services – virtual and on-site
  • Multi-language support for trial information and communications
  • Trial enrollment and performance tracking with automated reporting
  • DICOM consultation services
  • Database transfer
  • caBig connectivity and consulting services

• Equipment at This Location

  There are numerous PCs with Windows XP and Linux software. Image processing software is developed independently using Interactive Data Language (IDL, ITT Visual Information Solutions, Boulder, CO, USA). The image processing hardware includes high performance multi-core processing for computing purposes with a total storage capacity of more than 10 TB as well as data servers, PACS access points and FTP servers. In addition, there are five dedicated post processing workstations for volume data processing (Leonardo, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany), three dedicated post processing workstations for volume data processing (Advantage Windows, GE, Milwaukee, WI) and a client-based TeraRecon system.

• Equipment at This Location

  Micro PET-CT (Inveon, Siemens), which is used in small animal and specimen imaging.

• Theranostics

  Theranostics are experimental injectables that combine the function of diagnostics and therapeutics. They can use whole body in vivo imaging to pre-select only receptor positive patients for treatment, then treat, monitor and modulate the treatment in progress. 177LuAMBA is a GRP+ targeted radiotheranostic from the group that can kill cancer cells within two millimeters of the targeted cell. Metal, organic and peptide chemistries were all important elements of its discovery.

• Multivalent and Multifunctional Approaches

  Multivalent and multifunctional approaches to cancer targeting usually create dose limiting kidney or liver toxicity during excretion of the drugs. A general solution is to place cleavable (e.g. enzyme substrates) linking groups between the targeting and toxic moieties of multifunctional drug molecules, chosen to react only in the natural environment of the liver or kidney. The problem encompasses biochemistry of the organ, chemical kinetics and medicinal chemistry. 

• Intra-Operative Diagnostics

  Intra-operative diagnostics are emerging technology that seek to use new imaging technologies, mainly based upon fluorescence light emitting pharmaceuticals or ultrasound, to guide surgical interventions. Projects will place the student into collaborations with surgeons and bioengineers.

• Clinical Research

  Clinical research problems are translated into biochemical targets and addressed through creation of new pharmaceuticals. Organic, inorganic and radiochemistry, cell and animal biology and in vivo micro-imaging are used as needed. The group has a broad intellectual history and provides opportunities to exercise creativity at the interface of chemistry, biology and medicine. We use a wide range of techniques to create and characterize new, usually complex multifunctional molecules, and take the solved chemical problems to testing in cells, animals and, in some cases, clinical testing.

Wright Center of Innovation Research Teams

• Imaging Science Faculty

  Krishan Kumar, PhD
  Associate Professor, Ohio Molecular Imaging Scholar
  Director, Laboratory for Translational Research in Imaging Pharmaceuticals
   
  Michael Tweedle, PhD
  Professor, Stefanie Spielman Chair in Cancer Imaging
   
  Xiangyu Yang, PhD
  Assistant Professor, Medical Physicist

• Imaging Science Adjunct Faculty

  Johannes Heverhagen, MD, PhD
  Adjunct Assistant Professor
   
  Guang Jia, PhD
  Adjunct Assistant Professor
   
  Robert R. McKenney, PhD, FAAMA
  Adjunct Assistant Professor
   
  Juergen Reichenbach, PhD
  Adjunct Professor
   
  Steffen Sammet, MD, PhD
  Adjunct Assistant Professor
   
  Hendrik von Tengg-Kobligk, MD
  Adjunct Instructor