High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) coated tape and associated coil winding

Tender description

This research project is beneficial for people who suffer from an acute brain syndrome. Taking stroke as an example, it occurs 150, 000 times a year in the UK, and 790,000 times in the USA. It is estimated that stroke costs the UK economy £9 billion per year. Similarly, TBI is the leading cause of neurological disability globally, and costs the world economy over $400 billion annually in acute and care costs. In both of these situations, earlier diagnosis and therapy stratification, de-risking diagnostic imaging in critically ill patients with the use of near patient imaging, could aid precision medicine, drug development and improved outcome. If this project is successful, it will facilitate acute state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging potentially saving lives and improving neurological outcomes with consequent socioeconomic benefits. Moreover, greatly reduced price and running costs of an HTS MRI make this applicable to less developed countries. <br /> <br />A perennial use of superconductors is an enabling element in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) magnets. However traditional MRI is bulky, heavy and typically requires the patient to be brought to the MRI rather than the other way around. The magnetic field in traditional MRIs is generated by Low-Temperature Superconductors which operate in liquid helium. Complicated heat insulation requirements and the weight of magnets mean that conventional MRIs typically weigh in excess of several tons. This project aims to develop a truly compact, transportable and low cost MRI which could be taken to the patients’ bedsides. <br /> <br />This research will significantly reduce the costs of manufacturing MRI scanners as the length of conductor required is significantly reduced. Current scanners require approximately 14km of specialist cable whereas it is envisaged that using the techniques established at Department of Engineering this will be reduced to 2.5km providing financial savings to end users such as the NHS, making the equipment more affordable to purchase and operate and using much less resources such as copper to produce. <br />