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Oct 15, 2024

CU, Prisma team up for 3T functional magnetic imaging machine | News | upstatetoday.com

Reporter SENECA — A partnership between Clemson University and Prisma Health is investing in technology that will be pivotal in researching and detecting Alzheimer’s disease and related

Reporter

SENECA — A partnership between Clemson University and Prisma Health is investing in technology that will be pivotal in researching and detecting Alzheimer’s disease and related neurodegenerative conditions being studied in the Upstate.

State and Clemson officials, hospital staff and others were on hand for the unveiling of a new 3T (teslas) functional magnetic imaging (fMRI) machine at Oconee Memorial Hospital on Monday afternoon. The machine is now housed in the hospital’s new MRI suite that includes another new machine, a 1.5T that is the standard for hospital care across the state, according to Oconee Memorial Hospital CEO Hunter Kome.

Kome called the collaboration between Prisma and Clemson a “long time coming” during his 17 years with the hospital system. He said the 3T fMRI machine is more powerful than the standard 1.5T and will allow the hospital to do studies they’ve never been able to do before and Clemson to do research in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

“As much as we’re here to celebrate the opening of the new MRI suite, we’re here to celebrate the partnership between Prisma Health and Clemson University,” Kome said. “One aspect of our multifaceted relationship with Clemson University is the Institute for Engaged Aging, which is housed here at Oconee Memorial Hospital.”

Kome acknowledged all those who had a hand in the partnership and thanked State Senate President Thomas Alexander. He said much of the hospital’s progress over the years is because of Alexander’s support.

“There’s hardly a project or program here that he has not touched in some way,” Kome said.

Alexander echoed Kome’s comments, saying teamwork is what makes South Carolina “great” and referred to residents helping each other in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

“It tells us about how far we’ve come and the impact and the difference that working together makes,” he said. “To have this state-of-the-art technology right here in our communities to help our residents is very critical, and I don’t think we can understate the importance of having a quality health care facility like the Oconee campus of the Prisma system right here taking care of our individuals.

“As I look and travel across South Carolina, there are communities and counties that don’t have health care in their community for their residents, so we need to celebrate that,” he added. “But also not everybody has a great, great research institution like Clemson University in their back door to be able to work with and to partner with.”

University executive vice president for academic affairs and provost Bob Jones said the partnership’s investment in the fMRI machine helps meet needs for a “diverse older adult population.”

“We’ve all seen the census numbers. The number of people over 65 in the state of South Carolina is growing,” he said. “It’s going to be well over 23 percent in the near future, so we have a lot of work cut out for us and this work is critical.”

Institute for Engaged Aging cognition director Lesley Ross said the university’s institute already has two projects lined up using the fMRI that are funded by the National Institutes of Health and National Institute on Aging.

“We’re very excited. We have a long list of hundreds of participants that are waiting to be scanned,” she said, adding they’re in the process of planning several more projects.

About the technology

The next-generation, non-invasive scanning fMRI machine provides faster, higher quality medical imaging than was previously available at Oconee Memorial Hospital. According to university officials, the new unit will support local clinical diagnostic needs for patients in the Oconee County area and expand research opportunities to study Alzheimer’s disease and related conditions like dementia.

Some key factors dive deeper into how the fMRI machine will improve health care in the area:

• Traditional MRI machines operate at a strength of 1.5T, or teslas. A tesla is the unit of measurement quantifying the strength of a magnetic field. A 3T fMRI generates a magnetic field that is twice as strong as a normal MRI, and 10 to 15 times as strong as open MRI scanners. 3T fMRI technology differs from standard MRI units in that it allows more refined imaging detail, particularly related to changes and bloodflow in the brain, and is a critical tool for research related to aging.

• The addition of the 3T fMRI technology at Oconee Memorial Hospital solves an urgent need for both research and local clinical use.

• Providing this technology at Oconee Memorial Hospital helps patients who live in Oconee to no longer have to travel outside of their service area for imaging studies that require the 3T fMRI.

• The machine will not only help patients and research participants, but also aid in recruiting new faculty, researchers and clinicians to the Upstate.

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