Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal recently opened new Edinburgh Imaging facilities at the Queen's Medical Research Institute (QMRI) and the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Image Edinburgh Imaging continues to expand the possibilities for medical research and NHS services, with the launch of new facilities at the Little France campus. On 14 February, the University’s Chancellor, Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, officially opened a high-powered MRI brain scanner at the Royal Infirmary and a new PET MR scanner at QMRI. The latter is the first of its kind in Scotland. Edinburgh Imaging now houses six scanners, making it one of the largest networks in Europe with ties to clinical care. Working closely with clinicians and scientists, the facilities aim to enhance the quality of life for patients and create solutions to disease, through medical imaging research, the NHS clinical service and online education programmes. “The work we do at Edinburgh Imaging is very much in line with the College’s wider ‘bench to bedside’ ethos,” explains business manager, Dr Duncan Martin. “As the university and the NHS are sitting side-by-side sharing our imaging facilities, we can support as many users as possible. Edinburgh Imaging is very much about breaking down barriers between disciplines and encouraging cross-collaboration between academic and clinical work”. Imaging is a vital resource in many research disciplines. Neuroimaging, for example, is utilised extensively in projects investigating the origins of dementia and strokes. Edinburgh Imaging staff work with centres of research excellence within the University, such as the centres for Cardiovascular Science, Clinical Brain Sciences, Inflammation Research, Reproductive Health and the School of Informatics. Imaging is also used extensively at the Dick Vet School to help clinicians diagnose illness in animals. New facilities The new MRI scanner at the Royal Infirmary will help clinicians and researchers examine the brain at all stages of life – from birth to old age. It can also support acute research, meaning clinicians can scan patients who are unable to be transported to research facilities outside of a hospital The new PET MR scanner at QMRI, meanwhile, allows researchers to view structures of the brain and other organs in action inside a person in real time. This fully operational scanner was funded by the Medical Research Council as part of the Dementias Platform UK Imaging Network. “Having direct access to patients accelerates the progress of research,” says Duncan. “Researchers can have a direct impact. The whole point of doing research is that, at some point, patients –society in general – will receive a benefit.” Related links Find at more about Edinburgh Imaging: www.ed.ac.uk/edinburgh-imaging Watch our video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OpIsHfcVko The Edinburgh Imaging Academy: www.ed.ac.uk/edinburgh-imaging/academy Publication date 23 Feb, 2017
