Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive method for producing highly detailed images of the human body. It is used every day in hospitals around the world, and is particularly good at highlighting diseased tissue (e.g. cancer). It works by placing the patient into a very strong magnetic field. This causes the magnetic hydrogen atoms in water molecules to line up along the magnetic field. When a burst of weak radiowaves is applied, some of the energy is absorbed and this causes the hydrogen atoms to flip round in the magnetic field. After a time delay (called the "T1 relaxation time") the atoms revert to their original orientations and re-emit the radiowaves in the form of a "signal", which is picked up by the scanner. The process is repeated hundreds of times over the course of a few minutes, and the signals are then analysed by computer to produce an image (picture) of where the signals came from in the body. The delay time (T1) between receiving and re-emitting radiowaves is very sensitive to the type of tissue (e.g. the T1 of kidney is different to the T1 of leg muscle) and also changes if the tissue is diseased (brain tumour has a longer T1 than normal brain). Therefore, the T1 relaxation time is used to introduce "contrast" into MR images, which radiologists use to diagnose disease. Through experiments done outside the body on small tissue samples, biomedical scientists have discovered that the T1 relaxation time also depends strongly on the strength of the magnetic field used (thus, the T1 of liver is longer when measured in a 1.5 Tesla magnet than it is at 1.0 Tesla). Furthermore, the way in which T1 changes with magnetic field is different in different tissues, and can also change in disease. The manner in which T1 changes as a function of magnetic field is called "T1 dispersion" and a graph of T1 versus magnetic field strength is called a T1 dispersion curve. T1 dispersion could be of great use in diagnosing disease, but hospital MRI scanners cannot measure T1 dispersion, because each scanner operates at a single magnetic field strength (e.g. 1.5 Tesla or 3.0 Tesla) and cannot be changed. In a previous research project at the University of Aberdeen, we have shown that it is possible to design and build special MRI scanners in which the magnetic field applied to the patient can be changed very rapidly, while the scan is in progress. This method is called "Fast Field-Cycling MRI" (FFC-MRI). We have produced methods of measuring T1 dispersion curves, linked to MR images, and our research has also shown the potential for improving diagnosis, in diseases as diverse as osteoarthritis and deep-vein thrombosis. The potential also exists to use FFC-MRI to detect diseases which involve protein malformation and malfunction, such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and many more. At the moment, only two human-sized FFC-MRI scanners exist, both of them in our research laboratories. Hospitals cannot buy FFC-MRI scanners, because the companies that sell scanners do not yet build them for sale. However, there is a potential way in which some types of hospital MRI scanner (called "open" scanners) could be retro-fitted with additional hardware and software to allow them to perform FFC-MRI scans, and therefore enhance diagnosis of their patients. The upgrade "kit" includes additional magnet hardware that can be moved in or out, depending on whether FFC-MRI or standard MRI is being used, together with control and analysis software. The purpose of this project is to create preliminary designs for add-on hardware and software for FFC-MRI, and to develop the technology so that it can be demonstrated to companies which manufacture MRI scanners. The hope is that the technology would then be manufactured by the medical imaging industry and would then be purchased by hospitals and research institutes, making FFC-MRI much more widely available.

The CERN’s projects, HL-LHC and FCC, will create a big push in the state of the art of High-Field Superconducting magnets in the ten coming years. The performance of superconducting materials such as Nb3Sn and HTS will be developed to yield higher performance at lower costs and the construction materials and techniques will be advanced. At the same time, in the context of Energy’s savings, Industry is experiencing a renewed interest in the domain of industrial superconductivity with fault current limiters, wind generators, electric energy storage, etc. Besides, Medical Research shows a strong interest in High-Field MRI, especially for the brain observation. Considering the social impact of the investment of the HL-LHC project and FCC study, CERN and CEA have established a Working Group on Future Superconducting Magnet Technology (FuSuMaTech).The Working Group has explored a large spectrum of possible synergies with Industry, and has proposed a set of relevant R&D&I projects to be conducted between Academia and industry. To keep the leading position of Europe in the domain, the most efficient way is to support joint activities of Industry and academic partners on the common concerns in view of overcoming the technological barriers. The FuSuMaTech Initiative aims to create the frame of collaborations and to provide common tools to all the EU actors of the domain. The FuSuMatech Initiative is a dedicated and large scale silo breaking programme which will create a sustainable European Cluster in applied Superconductivity. It will enlarge the innovative potential especially in High Field NMR and MRI, opening future breakthroughs in the brain observation. The FuSuMaTech Phase 1 is the first step of the FuSuMaTech Initiative. It is based on practical cases studies and will consist in preparing: 1. The administrative and legal conditions; 2. The detailed description of generic R&D&I actions and of the Technology demonstrators; 3. The funding scheme for the future actions.

Our vision is to create a distributed CDT that unites the strands of magnetic resonance (MR) technology funded under the EPSRC Basic Technology (BT) Programme that accounted for more than 10% of the funding in this programme. We will create a world-leading combination of expertise, infrastructure resource and training. Furthermore this vision seeks to capitalise on the BT investment by developing MR technology to have real and lasting impact on UK science and industry. The UK has an outstanding and continuing record of contributions and advances to many aspects of MR research and technology. UK-based companies (e.g. Oxford Instruments, Magnex (now part of Agilent), Cryogenics, Bruker UK, Thomas Keating) using highly trained staff with higher degrees (e.g. MSc, PhD) have pioneered world-leading MR technology, much of it emerging from UK universities. The letters from our industrial partners are absolutely clear about the need for an increased supply of MR researchers trained to PhD level with a broad perspective of the field to maintain the UK's position at the forefront of the development of MR technology. MR methods are firmly established as a primary analytical tool in chemistry, are increasingly influential for characterisation in materials science and have revolutionised medical imaging. Despite the great success of MR there is huge demand to push the boundaries through increasing the sensitivity, resolution (spectral and spatial) and speed of the technique. The technologies involved include fast, high power and versatile electronics, signal detection and processing, high frequency/power sources, cryogenics, micromechanics, sample environments and pulse sequences. These drivers, the range of technologies involved and strong, integrated industrial involvement make the field an ideal research training ground for our PhDs and ensure wider BT impact. The CDT will provide impetus for further cross-collaboration in the UK MR community, with the projects jointly supervised across partners. Our vision centrally fits this CDT call by exposing students to multiple, but synergistic BT concepts around MR. Although the physical principles of the different branches of MR, i.e. nuclear (NMR), electron (EPR) and imaging (MRI), are fundamentally related, conventional 'isolated' PhDs associated with one specific MR topic often miss the connection and broader picture of the field. This CDT will bring new dimensions to the training of a cohort of UK PhD students in MR including acquiring the background skills for creative exploitation of their research. PhD projects centred on developing MR technology will have multidisciplinary impacts Page 3 of 9 Date printed: 20/01/2011 11:21:23 EP/J00121X/1 Date saved: 20/01/2011 10:45:13 through extending the range of application of MR techniques. The MR instrument market (certainly worth many hundreds of millions of pounds globally) continues to show strong growth as evidenced by the annual reports of the leading companies and by their projected forecasts of rapid expansion. Hence the already identified need along with the potential growth amply demonstrate the demand for trained people in this area. There is a strong fit to national needs in priorities aligned to RCUK, industry and more broadly. Increasingly there are national concerns about critical mass and improved sustainability through shared services/infrastructure. The demand for very expensive state of the art equipment in MR to compete internationally will require more coordination and joint planning between the leading groups and this CDT can play a central role in this. Specific areas of MR technology where training will be provided and also further developed through the research projects of the students are: (i) MR Pulse Sequence Technology (ii) Cryogenic Magnetic Resonance (iii) Advancing pulsed Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (iv) Beyond conventional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (v) Dynamic Nuclear Polarisation enhanced NMR

In the UK one in two people are diagnosed with cancer during their lifetimes and of those who survive 41% can attribute their cure to a treatment including radiotherapy. Proton beam therapy (PBT) is a radical new type of radiotherapy, capable of delivering a targeted tumour dose with minimal damage to the surrounding healthy tissue. The NHS is investing £250m in two new "state of the art" PBT centres in London and Manchester. In addition, Oxford has attracted £110m (from HEFCE and business partners) for its new Centre for Precision Cancer Medicine, incorporating PBT. This EPSRC Network+ proposal seeks to bring the EPS community together with clinical, consumer and industrial partners and develop a national research infrastructure and roadmap in proton therapy. It capitalises on ~£300m of government investment and affords an opportunity for those not directly involved in the new proton centres to be actively involved in the national research effort in this area. This project has the backing of NCRI Clinical and Translational Radiotherapy Working Group and NHS England and will work with the national Proton Physics Research and Implementation Group of the National Physical Laboratory. It also involves industrial stakeholders, consumer groups and international partners (including PBT centres in Europe and USA and CERN). While PBT offers patients many advantages it also presents a wealth of technical challenges and opportunities where there is an unmet research and training need. This is where there the involvement of the EPS community is vital since this challenge in Healthcare Technologies requires expertise from across the EPS spectrum and maps on to themes in ICT, Digital Economy, Engineering, Mathematics, Manufacturing the Future, and the Physical Sciences and also finds synergies within quantum technologies. It directly maps onto the cross cutting capabilities identified in the Healthcare Technologies Grand Challenges. This is a highly multi-disciplinary area at the frontiers of physical intervention, which achieves high precision treatment with minimal invasiveness. This Network+ is particularly timely; it will afford the UK the opportunity to develop a world-leading research capability to inform the national agenda, capitalising on existing research excellence and the synergies that can be developed by bringing the clinical and EPS areas together. It will also collaborate with existing doctoral training provision to train the next generation of leaders where a national need has been identified. This proposed Network+ will create a national infrastructure to meet a national research and training need and will allow the UK community to work together in the multi-disciplinary field of proton research. This proposed Network+ will create a sustainable national proton beam infrastructure by drawing together sites where proton beams are already available (albeit at lower energies) and providing a route for the research community to access these facilities. As the new proton centres come on line they will add to this national resource and the centres will work together to provide a virtual national infrastructure for the UK, which by the end of the Network+ will be fully sustainable. The Network+ will also provide a route for those interested in the field but not requiring proton experiments to become involved. In addition, the Network+ will offer secondments ("Discipline Hops") into the clinical environment in both the UK and in PBT centres overseas. Working with NHS England the Network+ will develop a PBT training scheme. This will link the existing NHS provision with EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training and allow equivalencies to be established and so provide a "fast track" to a skilled workforce and the next generation of leaders. The Network+ will also seek to engage with industry through joint research and secondments and with consumer groups, policy makers and the general public.