The University of Notre Dame Forms Partnership with Bruker Corp. To Develop Top Imaging Facility

The University of Notre Dame has established a formal partnership with Bruker Corp., a world leader in scientific instrumentation. The partnership will develop one of the Midwest's top imaging facilities at Notre Dame. The arrangement, called Bruker at Notre Dame (BAND), will allow the Notre Dame Integrated Imaging Facility (NDIIF) and Bruker to collaborate on research, training and new application development.

Robert J. Bernhard, Notre Dame's vice president for research, said the agreement will accelerate a wide range of research, education and outreach activities. "The partnership will enable Notre Dame students and faculty to utilize innovative technology from Bruker in our programs, which we believe will also inform Bruker about future markets," he said. "We believe this partnership will be mutually beneficial to both parties and are very pleased to formalize our relationship."

The University already houses several powerful and versatile small animal imaging systems, including Bruker's In-Vivo MS FX PRO and In-Vivo Xtreme 16MP optical/X-ray imaging systems and the Albira PET/SPECT/CT System. The partnership, which will be spearheaded by research assistant professor W. Matthew Leevy, an in vivo imaging expert at NDIIF, will provide more equipment and continued product and research support.

"The field of biomedical imaging is advancing very rapidly, and there is a continual need to upgrade capabilities," said Brad Smith, director of the NDIIF. "Working closely with a major company like Bruker allows students and staff of the Notre Dame Integrated Imaging Facility to keep abreast of the latest technical advances. Likewise, the NDIIF can feed back to Bruker new ideas of unmet imaging needs. Together, we can work toward a common mission of improving biomedical imaging for the research and health service communities."