A partnership led by the U.K.'s Medical Research Council will invest more than 230 million pounds (around 291 million euros) on a range of medical and healthcare technologies for cancer and dementia and advanced diagnosis and treatment.
The Clinical Research Infrastructure Initiative (CRII) will benefit from funding from the U.K. government and charities like Arthritis Research U.K., British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and Cancer Research U.K. to advance clinical research in 23 key projects at centers across the country.
Among the projects is combining imaging technologies, such as 7-tesla MRI, with other research techniques to give scientists an enhanced view within the body. Ultrahigh-field MRI scanners are included in the scheme, and CRII funding will go toward two new scanners and an upgrade at Oxford and Nottingham.
Cardiff University has secured a total of 6.7 million pounds (8.47 million euros), including 3.4 million pounds (4.3 million euros) from the Welsh Government, for the same 7-tesla MRI technology to investigate the causes and treatments of dementia and other brain conditions, such as schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and multiple sclerosis.
The University of Leeds and the University of York are developing a new imaging method (SABRE) designed to increase the signal in an MRI image by up to 100,000 times. The 7.6 million pound (9.6 million euros) investment will magnetically "label" specific molecules for both drugs and substances that occur naturally in the body.
The Institute of Cancer Research, London is developing a combination MRI and linear accelerator for installation at the Royal Marsden Hospital to visualize a tumor in real time while a patient undergoes radiation therapy.
