Building Portable MRIs for Astronauts and Behavioural Research

A presentation by Gordon Sarty, head of the Department of Psychology. This event is part of the Department of Psychology’s monthly colloquium series

Thursday, Sept. 27
3–4 pm
153 Arts Building, 9 Campus Dr.

Free and open to the public

Info: peter.grant@usask.ca

Abstract:

I will give an overview of the technology we have been developing to build portable “gradient-free” MRIs. Our work with the Canadian Space Agency will allow MRI to be used for the first time in space on the International Space Station (ISS). This first space MRI aims at imaging muscle and bone in astronaut ankles in the early 2020’s. To prove some of the concepts, we are currently building an ankle MRI for zero-g flight on the NRC’s Falcon 20 jet next year. A head MRI will be up next and we are working to merge Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) with MRI for functional imaging of the brain and eyes. Work is also progressing on using diamonds with nitrogen vacancies, one of a new breed of emerging quantum materials, for more sensitive MRI. As we develop the MRI for the space station, we will look for Earthbound uses and plan for an MRI in a Lunar Village.

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