New Zealand first in Australasia to have the World's most advanced MRI scanner

Auckland is now home to the world’s most advanced MRI scanner, the 3T Skyra, thanks to the relationship between The University of Auckland and manufacturer Siemens.

This is the first 3T Skyra to be marketed as a premium research machine anywhere in the world, and it will be used at the University’s Centre for Advanced MRI (CAMRI) as a diagnostic tool for cardiac patients and for global collaborative research work.

“What makes the 3T Skyra special is that it doubles the magnetic field, and its 200 different aerials give us greatly improved ‘ears’ to listen for signals, which in turn delivers improved picture quality,” says CAMRI director Associate Professor Brett Cowan.

CAMRI is now the single most important site for Siemens internationally for the research development of cardiovascular MRI, and Siemens is the world’s biggest manufacturer of these devices.

In the last five years, anyone with a significant heart defect requiring surgery, including babies and children would almost certainly have been scanned at CAMRI, but the Centre’s major focus is on research.

“We research for New Zealanders, we do it for the University and we do it for the New Zealand economy,” says Dr Cowan.

“We develop new software to make better images and to find new ways of analysing them. That technology has been distributed across the world and is routinely used at prestigious sites such as UCLA, the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins in the United States. This work directly benefits sick patients across the globe, but most importantly it benefits New Zealand patients with heart disease first.”

Dr Cowan calls MRI an enabling technology when it comes to research.

“Our business is to look inside things without touching them whether it’s a mummified moa from Te Papa or the ripening of fruit for food science. CAMRI also enables The University of Auckland attract and retain world-class staff and students whose research continues to push the frontiers of knowledge.”

Through Auckland UniServices Limited, the University’s commercialisation company, CAMRI is part of the biotech sector and knowledge economy.

“What the University and UniServices envisioned six years ago with the setup of the Centre has directly benefited the health of New Zealanders through our clinical work, the reputation of the University and the knowledge-based export sector of New Zealand through our research work. The new scanner will enable us to continue expanding that work,” says Dr Cowan.

Notes
CAMRI
CAMRI is the first MRI centre of its kind in New Zealand to focus on high-end clinical and research work as well as medical training and routine clinical imaging. It is the leading MRI patient imaging and research centre in New Zealand with national and international clinical trials for multinational pharmaceutical companies. Established in 2004, it collaborates closely with Siemens, enabling access to the latest equipment and, in return, development of software for advanced research and clinical protocols for Siemens to use worldwide.

Auckland UniServices Ltd
Auckland UniServices Limited is the largest research and development company of its kind in Australasia, and a wholly owned company of The University of Auckland. UniServices manages the University’s intellectual property and is responsible for all research-based consultancy partnerships, commercialisation, and contract education. By connecting its clients with the University’s brightest academic minds, UniServices provides commercial organisations the innovative technologies they seek, and governments the national programmes they need. The results can mean huge strides in a company’s international competitive edge, or in a country’s health, education and welfare capability. UniServices’ open innovation and world-class thinking can bring about change of world significance. UniServices has won the BDO Large Business award in the 2010 Vero Excellence in Business Support Awards. The awards are independently evaluated by the New Zealand Business Excellence Foundation us
 ing an international set of criteria designed to showcase best practice.