Partnership yields new technology for neuroscience research, patient care

By Anne Mcmillan | NEVADAToday

Neuroscience research is enhanced with new fMRI at Renown; Guy Poloni of Siemens and Lars Strother of the University of Nevada, Reno confer as the new equipment is operated.

Strengthening community health and healthy brain function. Deepening the partnership between health care and higher education in Northern Nevada. Bringing new equipment and imaging technology to better serve patients and advance neuroscience research happening in Reno.

The addition of a new functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scanner to Renown Health’s South Meadows campus is a “win-win” for this community: physicians at Renown use it to further patient care and University of Nevada, Reno researchers will use it to advance understanding of human brain function.

Physicians use MRI scanners, a non-invasive magnetic, imaging technology, to examine the brain’s anatomy, evaluate the effects of stroke or other disease, or to guide neural treatments. The scanners can also be equipped to monitor the brain’s activity using fMRI technology, which provides images to show the brain areas or circuits involved and how they interconnect while the brain is allowing performance of different tasks.

Neuroscience researchers across the University use functional or fMRI technique to study a broad spectrum of human brain functions such as vision and memory. Since 2014, these researchers have used Renown’s fMRI scanner on its Pringle Way campus in a limited capacity for research purposes. Now, the new fMRI offers higher resolution and more capabilities making it the gold standard for research.

“It allows us to conduct neuroimaging research as well as any other place in the world,” said Lars Strother, director of the University’s Neuroimaging Research Core and assistant professor of psychology.

The new fMRI is available to Northern Nevada thanks to a partnership between the University and Renown Health, and the equipment purchase was supported by the Renown Health Foundation and the University’s research enterprise.

Read the rest of the article at unr.edu/nevada-today.