This M N I/Siemens partnership creates the world's most advanced brain/drug research, imaging, and evaluation centre by combining clinical trial services for new pharmaceuticals with state-of-the art imaging research and development to provide a unique drug evaluation capability within a commercial setting.

The relevant expertise and equipment is located at the BIC. The MRI and PET equipment are supplied and supported by Siemens.

The BIC, representing a unique brain imaging environment in Canada, is engaged in a wide range of brain research and technological development image-based trials are presently being conducted at the BIC with the aid of powerful neuroimaging and computational techniques.

Neurovision Sciences Inc, the corporation formed through this partnership provides pharmaceutical companies, on a contractual basis, with an imaging-based evaluation of drug/brain behavior and treatment effect.

Neurovision Sciences Inc, combines the complementary strengths of the partners with a Siemens 1.5 Tesla MRI system within the MNI and seek external contracts for quantitative analysis of clinical trial data.

In addition to the MRI-related capabilities for clinical projects, there is a potential for including PET in the proposed research and business activities.

BIC researchers involved in a large PET program have recently purchased, with the support of Siemens, a second PET ECAT scanner representing the latest scanner technology.

Although still primarily a research tool, functional imaging with PET has many more potential uses for early drug evaluation than purely structural imaging with MRI.

Present PET research areas at the MNI include pain processing, psychiatric disorders, degenerative diseases, cerebrovascular disease, epilepsy and brain tumors.