GE Medical donates extremity MRI scanner
eneral Electric Medical Systems has generously
donated an Artoscan 0.3T extremity magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
scanner to the BME department. The scanner has already been installed
in the Engineering Centers Building and is being used in BME courses
as well as for research.
The MRI scanner offers a unique opportunity for students
not only to study MR imaging, but actually do it, says Michael Harsh,
global engineering general manager at GE Medical Systems. “You
can read about it in textbooks; you can understand the technology,”
he says. “But if you want a really good intuitive feel for how
it works and understand what it takes to do MR imaging, the best thing
you can do is have something available in the lab to really try these
things out on.”
The department is very grateful for the donation,
says Professor and Chair Rob
Radwin. “The scanner will be dedicated to biomedical engineering
education and research and will be accessible to students and researchers,
free from scheduling conflicts with clinics or medical services,”
he says.
Assistant Professor Walter
Block is using the MRI for his research and course. “We can
dedicate the Artoscan completely to imaging the musculoskeletal system
as it adjusts to stresses found in many work environments,” he
says. “The machine is a powerful educational tool in my class
on the systems engineering aspects of diagnostic imaging equipment.”
In addition, it is an example of the synergy between
the department and GE Medical Systems, which employs many UW-Madison
engineering graduates. “The research developed and students trained
with the assistance of this gift will continue to build upon the successful
partnership we have with GE,” he says.
Harsh agrees. “It’s in everyone’s
best interest,” he says. “The graduates who go through those
programs will know more about MR technology.”
