TRI Innovation and Translation Centre in collaboration with Siemens Healthineers

Placing Queensland at the forefront of global medical imaging technology, the TRI Innovation and Translation Centre in collaboration with Siemens Healthineers was established with funding from Advance Queensland, a Queensland Government initiative, in 2016 

The technology and skills available at this centre enable researchers and clinicians to utilise advanced medical imaging approaches to develop innovative solutions to clinical problems, without the need for invasive testing.

The TRI Innovation and Translation Centre in Collaboration with Siemens Healthineers includes: 

• An advanced suite of clinical imaging facilities, including 3T Prisma and Skyra scanners
• A multidisciplinary team of researchers and professionals from biomedical science, medical imaging, biomedical engineering, imaging analysis and modelling. 

Based at the Princess Alexandra Hospital campus, this centre enables researchers and clinicians at the Translational Research Institute (TRI) to develop imaging technology and protocols to investigate their application in diagnosis and treatment of various conditions. 

The centre is led by the Professor of Radiology at QUT, Carolyn Mountford, who has nearly 30 years of experience in working with magnetic resonance spectroscopy. According to Professor Mountford, the newly-developed scanning technologies and techniques at the centre could provide a better platform for the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of cancer, trauma, immunotherapy, chronic pain and other disorders and diseases.

Current research projects

• PhD Program for radiographers at TRI
• Working towards clinical assisted diagnosis using advanced Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
• Improving diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder and blast trauma in front line defenders 
• Improving diagnosis of pain and detecting transition to chronic pain
• Detecting early signs of changes to breast tissue in women at high risk of breast cancer 
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Adolescent brain development 
• A non-invasive method to detect cardiac fibrosis – detecting early changes before progression to heart failure.

Picture: The Siemens 3Tesla Prisma MRI is part of the diagnostic imaging suite at the TRI Innovation and Translation Centre in collaboration with Siemens Healthineers, based on the Princess Alexandra Hospital campus.