Virtual Institute for Seven Tesla Applications ++ (Vista++) is the Dutch High Field Imaging Hub.
At ultra-high field (UHF) of ≥7T, MRI allows much higher detail, i.e. opening a mesoscopic view on the brain and other tissues of the human body, giving denser information content than clinical field strengths, not only from anatomical but also from functional, metabolic, and connectivity perspectives. It also allows for the detailed characterization of physiological and molecular processes inaccessible by other modalities. The collaboration of all Dutch 7 Tesla MRI sites provides access to these facilities for the complete Dutch research community. Siemens 7 Tesla scanners are accessible in Essen (access via Donders Center in Nijmegen) and Maastricht (Scannexus). Philips 7 Tesla MRI scanners are operational in Leiden (LUMC), Amsterdam (Spinoza Center), and Utrecht (UMC Utrecht). At all fives sites the necessary pulse sequence development and hardware skills are present to support use of the facilities by external parties, whereas close collaboration between the sites ensure efficient knowledge exchange. Moreover, support in post-processing is offered within our consortium.
Access to the infrastructure is supported via quick interviews to assess the needs of an external partner, resulting in a referral to one of our sites. Subsequently, a more detailed assessment is performed to estimate the amount of support necessary to perform the study. Based on this assessment as well as the combined scientific interest a quotation will be provided.
Please contact us on vistaplusplus@lumc.nl when you would like to access the facilities.