ShEEP-IC: Request for 31 Phosphorus Spectroscopy Imaging System

Providence Va Medical Center, Providence RI

Investigators

Abstract

The Department of Veteran Affairs is committed to providing cutting-edge medical care to those who have served their country in the Armed Services, and the Office of Research and Development has a responsibility to understand the basic mechanisms of disease, the clinical manifestations of conditions requiring medical treatment, and improvement of health service delivery. This application requests support for shared equipment that provides critical infrastructure to researchers seeking to improve Veteran health through each of those lines of investigation. The research community at the Providence VA Medical Center has a long history of excellence. From the biological bases of cardiovascular disease, to the careful characterization of psychopathology, to the Center of Innovation for Long Term Services, to the outstanding Rehabilitation work for mental and physical disorders the Providence VAMC has been enormously productive in the area of Veteran-centric medical research. Consistent with this history of excellence is the requirement for cutting edge research infrastructure to serve this productive research community. Accordingly, this application requests support for a piece of scientific instrumentation that may extend the impact and innovation of numerous VA researchers. The instrument that we are seeking support for is a 31-Phosphorus spectroscopy coil to enhance our current magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) capabilities. Specifically, this equipment allows for a non-invasive, non-radiation exposing technique for the investigation of metabolism in vivo. 31-Phosphorus spectroscopy uses magnetic resonance signals from nuclei to provide comprehensive metabolic and biochemical information about a variety of bodily tissues. This method is highly versatile and can provide metabolic insights into the role of metabolism (in particular, energetics) in a wide number of conditions, including hypertensive, valvular, and ischemic heart disease, peripheral muscular degeneration, neuromuscular disorders, cognitive/cerebral disease, and malignancy. This method can also be used to monitor patient responses to therapeutic interventions: pharmacologic, surgical, or interventional. When combined with magnetic resonance imaging, spectroscopy enables detailed pathophysiologic insights into the inter-relations among structure, function, perfusion, and metabolism. Obtaining this new equipment will complement our current MRI research infrastructure that has already served countless Veterans. Examples of studies that will benefit from 31-Phosphorus spectroscopy include Dr. Siddique Abbasi?s work in diabetes and obesity-related cardiomyopathy, my own work in cardiac rehabilitation, Dr. Noah Philip?s work in PTSD and stress-related cognitive states, Dr. Sharon Round?s work in pulmonary hypertension, and numerous other minor users investigating conditions critical for Veteran health.