Project Details
Projekt
German Ultrahigh Field Imaging (GUFI)
Subject Area
Medical Physics, Biomedical Technology
Term
from 2017 to 2021
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 324669110
The German Ultrahigh Field Imaging (GUFI) network was founded at the end of 2013 with the aid of DFG funding provided by the call to establish Core Facilities including distributed national networks such as GUFI. Members of the GUFI network now include all eleven centers performing human ultra-high-field (UHF) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging at magnetic field strengths >= 7 Tesla in Germany. Several international partners are affiliated with the network as well. The overall goal of GUFI is to facilitate and harmonize the work of the German UHF MR sites and make this expensive and highly complex technology accessible to a larger number of researchers. The focus of the first funding period was to promote communication between the centers via a web-based portal as well as regular face-to-face meetings. The web portal also enables external users to identify the UHF MR facility best suited to their research question. A consensus guideline document has been formulated that gives basic recommendations regarding access procedures and rules for UHF MR research infrastructure. A consensus recommendation on how to determine whether subjects with passive implants can be safely examined at UHF MR has also been issued by the GUFI members. The network has established quality assurance (QA) procedures and a corresponding measurement phantom suitable for monitoring system performance and ensuring that each UHF MR system is working at peak performance. As an extension of this work, GUFI conducted and published a study examining measurement reproducibility across sites. This is the first study that paves the way for future multicenter research studies utilizing structural imaging at UHF. In the upcoming funding period, a main focus will be continuation of the networking and communication activities. We will also further pursue our efforts to establish consensus safety procedures, including common and mutually recognized staff and user training based on an online course, establishment of a database of specific implants that can be safely accepted for imaging, and consensus regarding testing and evaluation of self-built radiofrequency coils. We also aim to refine our QA activities by developing QA protocols suitable for regions outside the brain and by establishing tools for automated, quantitative evaluation of data collected during QA procedures. First multicenter trials will be planned and initiated. The German UHF MR community was the first national UHF MR community to coordinate their efforts in a network such as GUFI, and the high visibility of this project is demonstrated by the active involvement of international UHF MR sites and the establishment of a UK UHF MR network based on a similar concept, with which GUFI closely cooperates.
DFG Programme
Core Facilities
Participating Persons
Professor Dr. Michael Bock; Dr. André Brechmann; Dr. Stuart Clare; Professor Dr. Jürgen Hennig; Privatdozent Dr. Bernd Ittermann; Professor Dr. Ewald Moser; Professor Dr. Harald Möller; Professor Dr. Armin Nagel, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Thoralf Niendorf, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Benedikt Andreas Poser; Professor Dr. Klaus Scheffler, Ph.D.; Professorin Dr. Laura Maria Schreiber; Professor Dr. Tobias Schäffter; Professor Dr. Nadim Jon Shah, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Tony Stöcker; Professor Dr. Siegfried Trattnig; Professor Dr. Michael Uder; Professor Dr. Kamil Uludag; Professor Dr. Nikolaus Weiskopf; Dr. Chris Wiggins
