WASHINGTON – A center for imaging neurodegenerative diseases with the latest in brain-imaging equipment will open at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center in late 2003.
“This new center will enhance the Department of Veterans Affairs ability to treat veterans with neurodegenerative diseases,” said Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Leo S. Mackay Jr. “In addition, its state-of-the art equipment will further research into the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, Lou Gehrig’s disease and Parkinson’s, as well as Gulf War veterans illnesses.”
A new high-field MRI/MR spectroscopy system will be the centerpiece of the center. Three times more powerful than the standard MRI, it will be the only high-field system in the world that is focused on neurodegenerative diseases.
The new center will be a joint program of the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the Northern California Institute for Research and Education (NCIRE).
The medical center has received a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health towards the purchase of the $3.4 million high-field MRI/MR spectroscopy system. NCIRE will provide the balance of the funds.
