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University opens PET-MR scanner

14 Jun 2017

Prof Dame Nancy Rothwell, Chancellor Lemn Sissay, Kathy Cowell OBE, Chairman of the Board of CMFT and Gill Heaton OBE, Deputy Chief Executive of the Trust have opened the PET-MR scanner that will enable enhanced research in dementia.

Kathy Cowell OBE, Lemn Sissay, Nancy Rothwell and Gill Heeaton OBE

One of only seven PET-MR scanners in the UK has opened at St Mary’s Hospital, Manchester under the auspices of the Division of Informatics, Imaging and Data Sciences as part of a multi-million pound project, a pivotal moment for imaging at Manchester. The project  also funded the refurbishment of a shelled space adjacent to the Nuclear Medicine Department on the CMFT site.

The scanner, manufactured by GE Healthcare, was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) as part of the Dementias Platform UK initiative and will enable enhanced research in dementia. As a partner in DPUK, the University is now becoming involved in multi-centre trials into dementia and a number of exciting imaging studies have already been funded to use the scanner.

The refurbishment was co-funded by the MRC, University and Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CMFT) and the space was designed specifically for dementia patients, including the inventive use of colour.

The event featured speeches from Prof Dame Nancy Rothwell, Kathy Cowell OBE, Chairman of the Board of CMFT and Lemn Sissay MBE who unveiled a poem especially commissioned for the opening.

Prof Alan Jackson, Professor of Neuroradiology and the PET-MR academic lead said:

“The suite is a testament to an incredible team effort involving the University, CMFT and contractors and puts Manchester at the forefront of imaging research.”

Professor Nigel Hooper, Director of Dementia Research and Vice Dean for Research and Innovation in FBMH, said:

“This event marked the culmination of over three years of work since the MRC bid first went in and will deliver a step change in our dementia research activity.”

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