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Natalie Ortiz is a typical six-year-old first grader — happy, active and fidgety — the kind of patient often sedated for a lengthy Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan. But with the help of a new sedation-free MRI program at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Ortiz was able to successfully complete a 90-minute scan of her spine recently, lying still in the tube surrounded by a giant circular magnet that loudly clanged, tapped and thumped around her.

According to annual figures available through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) is now ranked ninth in the nation among U.S. medical schools in total grant support provided through the nation’s medical research agency. Receiving $292,413,440 in NIH grant support during calendar year 2013, VUSM moved up four places from its 2012 ranking by adding an additional $5,723,560 in funding. NIH funding support is considered a key indicator of an institution’s overall strength in biomedical research.

The Ultrasound Section of Vanderbilt’s Department of Radiology recently received maximum length re-accreditation through the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, the largest ultrasound organization in the world. The re-accreditation recognizes that the sonographic exams in the department are of the highest quality and in several areas set the standards for sonographic studies performed throughout the country.

Therapeutic nanoparticles – particles that can serve as both imaging probes and therapeutic agents – offer advantages over traditional cancer chemotherapeutics, but the delivery of these particles to tumor tissues is a major challenge.

A new Vanderbilt study is the first to use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to noninvasively measure lymphatic flow. Researchers say this technique holds future potential in the identification of patients at highest risk for developing lymphedema and in the evaluation of response to lymphedema therapy.