In-bore climate control chamber for magnetic resonance imaging of living plants

作者：Knorr N, Rovedo P, Leupold J, von Elverfeldt D, Hesse L, Bär S · 发表于：Plant methods · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1186/s13007-026-01561-2 · 被引用次数：33

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) enables non-invasive and non-destructive, three-dimensional anatomical and functional imaging of plant tissues and the quantitative investigation of dynamic processes such as water transport. Despite these advantages, MRI remains underutilized in plant and biomimetic research. One major limitation is the difficulty of maintaining physiologically suitable and stable environmental conditions during prolonged measurements, particularly when using ultra-high-field preclinical MRI scanners that were originally developed for small-animal imaging.In this work, we present a low cost, climate-controlled and MR-compatible growth chamber that includes an in-bore extension for preclinical MRI scanners. The system integrates growth and imaging conditions into a single setup, allowing continuous control of temperature, humidity, and illumination by the same system and removing the need to maintain separate commercial growth chambers alongside custom in-bore extensions. The implementation was optimized for the horizontal bore of a small animal scanner (Bruker PharmaScan 70/16) with 16 cm bore diameter and 72 mm free access but is applicable to other ultra-high-field preclinical MRI systems with comparable dimensions.The performance of the climate chamber and the in-bore extension was characterized with respect to temperature, humidity, and illumination stability. In addition, the potential negative impact of the insert and its electronics on the MRI signal (...