Ben Parkinson
Senior Engineer, Robinson Research Institute
Hi Ben, tell us a little about yourself and your research interests. I know you come from an engineering background, so what got you into MRI and neuroscience?
My name is Ben Parkinson, and I am a Senior Engineer within the Robinson Research Institute. My institute is within Victoria University of Wellington but we work closely with the Callaghan Innovation. I actually come from a physics background, and I studied at Massey University in Palmerston North originally. I studied under Sir Paul Callaghan, investigating Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). NMR is an analytical technique that allows you to investigate the structure of molecules and their dynamics or interactions. NMR is applied in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and so this is where my transition into MRI and then neuroscience came about.
The lab then moved to Wellington, where Paul founded the MacDiarmid Institute at Victoria University. We continued to investigate NMR and also designed and manufactured superconducting magnetics. We also designed and manufactured something called a gradient coil for MRI, which is much smaller than classical coils used in MRI.
So, I listened to your talk at Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research (AWCBR) this year and found it fascinating. For people who were not there, could you briefly describe your MRI machine and its purpose?
Sure! My presentation described a novel 0.7 T ultra-compact brain MRI scanner we have developed in collaboration with several institutions/universities in America. The patient is seated upright in the scanner, with their shoulders completely excluded from the scanner, and able to see through the side of the scanner.
You had an international collaboration for this. Could you discuss your experience with this? How did this come about? What are some of the exciting or challenging aspects of international collaboration?
The collaboration was large and worldwide, including the University of Minnesota, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and the University of São Paulo, along with us. We were funded by a large grant from the National Institute of Health, and each team was responsible for a different aspect of the device and its testing. Here in New Zealand, we were responsible for manufacturing the superconducting magnet. It was really incredible when all parts were combined at the University of Minnesota, and we successfully created the scanner.
The largest challenge was definitely Covid-19 and the differing levels of lockdown across institutes, along with the delays in sourcing products. Another challenge was that we had tried hard to plan our project and mitigate problems before they arose, but some problems arose that we had never envisioned. Because of this, we had to be very flexible and creative with our problem-solving.
There was also a number of exciting aspects to this collaboration.
How do you see your machine impacting NZ neuroscience? Is there scope for collaboration throughout NZ also?
As many are aware, the largest barrier to MRI is accessibility and cost. This compact brain scanner therefore could be an answer to this. Currently, the next steps are focused on expansion in the US, but this could also be used in the New Zealand context.
We envision this scanner could be beneficial on multiple levels. Firstly, it could be taken to rural areas and improve accessibility to these underrepresented communities. Secondly, the scanner could be used in an emergency department as a first point of contact where an individual could come in and receive a scan to firstly identify if more treatment is needed or not. Lastly, the scanner could be really useful in a scientific landscape where the scanner was held in a trailer and neuroscience institutes across New Zealand could use it for several months and then it could move on to another. Ultimately, this scanner has the potential to improve accessibility and neuroscience collaboration across New Zealand.
If people want to contact you, how should they do so? Do you have any social media profiles people can follow?
I don’t have any social media profiles, but I can be contacted through my email: ben.parkinson@vuw.ac.nz.
Interview by Dr Lily Bentall (University of Otago)