July 2, 2008 - Untold numbers of veterans and their family members will benefit from research that will be done using a state-of-the-art machine unveiled Tuesday at the Waco Veterans Affairs Hospital, officials said.

The MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, machine is believed to be the most powerful of its type in the world, VA officials said. What sets it apart from other sophisticated MRI units is that it is mobile, allowing researchers to transport it from place to place to get pictures of people’s brains.

The VA hopes images obtained by the machine will allow researchers to develop better treatments for traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses developed by military personnel. Such research is all the more important now because large numbers of

soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have such conditions, officials said.

"This (machine) means that thousands of veterans, not just here in Central Texas but across the country, are going to get the health care they desperately need to get back on their feet as productive citizens after paying a very high price for their country," said U.S. Rep Chet Edwards, D-Waco, who spoke at the unveiling ceremony.

The machine cost $3.5 million. The benefit of its being so powerful, officials said, is that it can produce better images and take them at a faster pace than other machines.

Scans will be taken both before and after military personnel are deployed overseas, said Suzy Bird Gulliver, director of the Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans, which is housed at the Waco VA. Researchers also hope to continue taking scans of some veterans for the rest of their lives, she said. Such follow-up likely will provide critical data, she said, since people’s brains continue to change throughout their lifetimes.

"We'l be able to change the face of treatment," she said, touting the machine’s advantages.

Another exciting aspect of the new unit is that Central Texas researchers will be at the forefront of developing the protocols for using such equipment, Gulliver said. Before beginning their research, for example, officials will have to make sure test results are consistent after the machine is moved from place to place, she said.

Gulliver said researchers hope to begin scanning people by the end of the summer. The unit will travel between three VA facilities in Central Texas — the Waco VA , the Temple VA and Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood.

In addition to VA researchers, personnel from the Texas A&M Health Science Center and the U.S. Department of Defense also will participate in the research, Gulliver said.

Bruce Gordon, director of the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, said that in addition to the data the machine will provide, it will stand as a symbol of the country’s commitment to helping returning soldiers. Pointing to the machine — which is contained in a large trailer emblazoned with the logos of all the participating agencies and the phrase, "Working together to support America’s troops and veterans" — he said it should definitely catch people’s attention.

"Picture that going down the highway," he said.