#ImagingTheFuture Week: Unlocking solutions to major health challenges

#ImagingTheFuture Week: Unlocking solutions to major health challenges


Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s (CZI) Imaging the Future Week puts a spotlight on the significance of imaging science in biomedicine, and the importance of building a vibrant imaging community across the world to tackle these challenges at scale.

Imaging science and the highly skilled researchers behind it are vital to addressing global health challenges, and driving innovation in disease management, prevention, and cure.

The National Imaging Facility (NIF) invests in state-of-the-art equipment and partners with world-class experts to process and interpret data and apply imaging to solve challenging health problems.

CEO Prof Wojtek Goscinski said he was proud of the NIF’s partnerships which enable the translation of discoveries through to real world applications to improve the health of the population.

“Advanced imaging techniques make it possible to deepen our understanding of health and disease in the human body through visualisation,” Prof Goscinski said.

“Imaging already plays a critical role in healthcare, and the acceleration of its advancements in biomedicine are positioning us, and our colleagues world-wide to continue this work well into the future.”

“We are supportive of the efforts of CZI and I’m excited for NIF to work alongside them and our other international imaging colleagues, building a cutting-edge imaging community at the forefront of global imaging research,” Prof Goscinski said.

You can find out more about Imaging the Future Week here.

Keep scrolling to check out some of the impressive imaging work from a few of the Australian National Imaging Facility’s Nodes.

Time-of-flight angiography of the human brain using 7 Tesla MRI – courtesy of the Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland

Human Tooth CT scan – courtesy of Diana Patalwala, University of Western Australia

Angiogram scanned on the Siemens 3T Skyra magnet – courtesy of the Large Animal Research and Imaging Facility, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute

Tractography template image of a sham rat – courtesy of David Wright, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

Imaging critical to brain cancer treatment

Imaging critical to brain cancer treatment: Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute to collaborate with Telix in ground-breaking new study

National Imaging Facility (NIF) Node partner, the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute (ONJCRI) will work with globally recognised biopharmaceutical company Telix to evaluate the use of a novel radiotracer (O-(2-[18F]fluoroethyl)-L-tyrosine or 18F-FET) to image patients with glioblastoma (GBM), a type of brain cancer, with positron emission tomography (PET) (FET-PET).

The collaboration between ONJCRI and Telix will enable a synergistic approach to improving the lives of people with GBM, which is the most common primary brain cancer in adults.

The ONJCRI is a global leader in the development of immunotherapies, targeted therapeutics, and personalised cancer medicine, while Telix is focused on the development of clinical-stage products that address significant unmet medical need in oncology and rare diseases.

The FET-PET in Glioblastoma (FIG) study will recruit up to 210 recently diagnosed adult GBM patients at 10 sites around Australia, aiming to definitively establish the role of FET-PET in the management of patients with GBM. The FIG Study is funded by the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), the Australian Brain Cancer Mission (ABCM), and the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation, and also involves the Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group (TROG) and the Australasian Radiopharmaceutical Trials Network (ARTnet). 

The NIF’s LaTrobe University – ONJCRI Node Director, and Clinical Trial Co-Chair, Prof Andrew Scott AM said the study would utilise imaging to bring critical new treatment opportunities to light and have potentially life-saving impacts.

“Imaging is integral to effective diagnosis, staging and determination of the treatment pathway for all cancers, but is vitally important in GBM which is very aggressive and can be difficult to treat,” Professor Scott said.

“This ground-breaking study will use 18F-FET, a new PET tracer which can show us if tumour cells are active. This is a more functional imaging technique compared to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the current standard imaging tool, and could potentially provide a powerful imaging biomarker for the management of brain cancer and improve survival rates.”

National Imaging Facility CEO, Prof Wojtek Goscinski said the collaboration was an exciting opportunity to see the life-changing impacts that cutting-edge imaging capabilities can have on people living with debilitating illnesses.

“Medical imaging plays a critical role in the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of life-threatening diseases like GBM,” Prof Goscinski said.

“It is excellent to see Australian-led research use imaging with the aim to improve the treatment of patients with GBM and save lives.

“It’s exciting for NIF’s LaTrobe University – ONJCRI node to be involved in an industry partnership that has the potential to expand the country’s economic growth, and position Australia as a global leader in cancer research,” he said.

You can read more about the announcement here.

Ape-y ending for sick Orangutan at the National Imaging Facility SA Node

Ape-y ending for sick Orangutan at the National Imaging Facility SA Node

Image credit: Adrian Mann

Puspa, the 46-year-old female Sumatran Orangutan from Adelaide Zoo was taken to the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute Preclinical, Imaging and Research Laboratories (SAHMRI PIRL) for CT imaging last year to investigate the cause of a sudden change in behaviour and suspected pain in her lower abdomen.

Diagnostic imaging plays a critical role in healthcare in human- and animal- patients, enabling the best evidence for decision making, and coordinating the most effective treatment options.

Sumatran Orangutans are critically endangered, and a patient like Puspa can’t tell us what’s wrong. Having access to a CT scanner within the SAHMRI Large Animal Research and Imaging Facility (LARIF) is extremely valuable for diagnosis and treatment, protecting the species.

The expert team *swung into action* to find the CT scan revealed a number of gallstones, along with inflammation of the bile duct and gallbladder – and determined the best course of action for Puspa’s wellbeing to be surgical removal.

Due to the unique nature of the operation, the veterinary team consulted with human medical experts from Flinders Medical Centre and the Royal Adelaide Hospital to determine the best procedure to remove all the gallstones and gallbladder based on the CT findings.

The uniquely diverse medical team removed nine large gallstones and a gallbladder that was definitely past its prime(ate).

We’re ape-solutely delighted to report that since surgery, Puspa is back to her usual self, but hasn’t been up to any monkey business, leaving her stitches alone. She’s eating well, has been out and about and is climbing.

For more information, contact: Georgia Williams, Research Radiographer and National Imaging Facility Fellow, SAHMRI.

If you’re a fan of gore(illa) (sorry) you can watch the video of Puspa’s surgery below.

You can *hang out* with Puspa at Adelaide Zoo.

Open Access paper an opportunity for coordinated global response to major scientific challenges

Open Access paper an opportunity for coordinated global response to major scientific challenges

International cutting-edge bioimaging facilities network, Global BioImaging, has published a paper highlighting the value of open access imaging core facilities for researchers, imaging scientists, industry and funders.

Open access imaging core facilities underpin a wide range of positive outcomes for society. They empower excellent research to address global challenges, encourage innovative cross-disciplinary collaborations, and enable re-usability of imaging data for new research.

The National Imaging Facility (NIF) and Microscopy Australia are the Australian members of Global BioImaging’s network of imaging infrastructures and communities and are continually working to strengthen national contributions to the global scientific community.

As contributors to the paper, National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS)-funded facilities, NIF and Microscopy Australia, are working to further coordination and integration of national investments in research infrastructure.

Microscopy Australia CEO, Prof. Julie Cairney said the paper recognised Australia as a leader in the global landscape but underlined the opportunities that open access imaging infrastructure enables internationally.

“The paper recognises scientific, technical and data challenges as universal rather than restricted by geographical boundaries,” Prof Cairney said.

“Investment in open access imaging infrastructure enables researchers to respond in a collaborative and coordinated manner to critical issues such as the current health, climate change, sustainable agriculture and environmental protection challenges and provide benefits on a global scale.”

NIF CEO, Prof Wojtek Goscinski said the document provides valuable insight into beneficial aspects of a coordinated approach to utilising imaging technologies to reach global goals.

“Open access imaging core facilities have the potential to open doors to addressing deeply embedded so­cio-economic challenges, the sharing of good practices, and knowledge,” Prof Goscinski said.

“This paper provides a unique opportunity for international discussion and cooperation to investigate prospects to strengthen cutting-edge imaging capability and research capacity on a global scale, with possible outcomes to better standards of living across the board.”

Click here to read Global BioImaging’s paper “Added Value of Open Access Imaging Core Facilities”. 

JOB ALERT: Help us find our new Partnership Manager

NIF to strengthen Australia’s collaborative research capability with dedicated Partnership Manager Applications close 23 January 2022, 11:00PM AEST

The National Imaging Facility (NIF) is recruiting a Partnership Manager, who will be integral to making cutting-edge imaging capabilities accessible to Australian researchers.

Complex problems cannot be easily solved by a single discipline, and often the research with the greatest impact is derived from collaboration – so our new Partnership Manager will be vital to driving collaboration and innovation to place Australia at the cutting edge of research.

The Partnership Manager will build an Australia-wide community of stakeholders across universities, medical research institutes, government and industry to support the NIF’s world class research infrastructure.

The brand-new role will enable the NIF to expand and strengthen its research network, providing capabilities that underpin nationally significant and impactful research, which translates to products and benefits for the Australian public.

Our Partnership Manager will be poised to effectively engage the NIF’s ecosystem of expertise, infrastructure and services to support researchers, and lead to greater translation of research into impactful products to benefit Australians.

We are looking for a candidate with excellent business development skills, including experience in identifying and developing major collaborations and partnerships.

Our Partnership Manager will play a critical role in strengthening stakeholder relations, fostering and nurturing partnerships, and contributing to the strategic and operational objectives of Australia’s national imaging capability to meet complex domestic and global challenges.

The NIF provides state-of-the-art facilities and services located throughout Australia that support critical leading-edge innovation and research, but NIF’s capability is much more than these instruments and equipment. The NIF network is privileged to comprise of a range of highly skilled experts across 13 Nodes, enabling projects that have the potential to improve Australia’s standard of living and strengthen its economic standing.

Read more and apply to become our new Partnership Manager.

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