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Brigham Young University
MRI Research Facility

Resources

The BYU Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research Facility (MRI-RF) is a state-of-the-art research and educational facility located in the McDonald Building on the BYU Provo campus. Spanning over 3,500 square feet, the lab provides resources for advanced MRI and CT imaging research, as well as office, classroom, and wet-lab space. The facility is conveniently located within walking distance of faculty and student offices in the Colleges of Engineering, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Family, Home, and Social Sciences.

MRI Scanner
The MRI-RF houses a Siemens 3T MAGNETOM Vida scanner in a dedicated RF-shielded room designed for neuroimaging and other advanced applications. Key features include:

  • Pulse Sequences: T1, T2, DTI, SWI, SPACE, VIBE, motion correction, volumetric imaging, and functional imaging
  • Receiver Coil Arrays: 64-channel head/neck, 20-channel combination shim/receiver, 8-channel for spine and extremities (foot/ankle), 18-channel for abdomen, and two 4-channel flex coil arrays for other applications
  • Control Room: Equipped with a 48” LCD screen for video feeds and a shielded observation window

Neuroimaging Resources
The facility supports advanced neuroimaging research with:

  • Workstations running FreeSurfer, AFNI, and SPM for image analysis
  • A stimulus-presentation computer equipped with E-PRIME, PsychoPy, and Matlab for fMRI experimental design
  • High-quality audio-visual equipment, including an fMRI-compatible LCD projection system, magnet-compatible audio systems, and a fast-response button box
  • EyeLink 1000 Plus for in-bore eye-tracking and a 64-channel MicroMagLink EEG system for simultaneous EEG/ERP and fMRI with CURRY 7 analysis software

CT Scanner
The Perkin-Elmer Quantum GX microCT scanner delivers high-resolution volumetric X-ray imaging (down to 4.5 microns) for applications ranging from animal research to materials analysis. Features include respiratory and cardiac gating, as well as an isoflurane anesthetization system, fume hood, and surgical bench for animal studies.

Specialized Laboratory Spaces

MRI Coil Laboratory
This laboratory is equipped to simulate MRI electrical environments with:

  • Oscilloscopes, network analyzer, signal generators, LCR meters, and soldering equipment
  • RF shielded test bore, amplifiers, power supplies, and current/voltage monitors

Wet Lab
The dedicated wet-lab space includes essential resources for chemical and biological experiments, complete with a fume hood

Study Observation Rooms
Two observation rooms are available for behavioral studies, featuring remote cameras, survey computers, a treadmill, and athletic tables

Computational Resources
The MRI-RF offers a suite of high-performance computing systems, including:

  • A ThinkMate GPX-WS-540W1 workstation with dual NVIDIA Quadro 6000 GPUs, 128 GB RAM, and 12 TB storage
  • A high-performance computing cluster with nine networked multi-core Linux systems and 42 TB RAID storage
  • Multiple administrative PCs, Mac workstations, and gigabit networking for secure data networking

Educational and Office Resources
Ample office and laboratory space is available for researchers, with additional offices located nearby. The facility also includes a large classroom with 18 iMac computers, audiovisual display systems, and whiteboards to support instruction, data processing, meetings, and telework.

For more information or to schedule a consultation, please contact us.