A north campus facility at UNM may not see many students each day, but the new Pete and Nancy Domenici Hall (PNDH) expansion project is collecting a lot of attention. The South Side Addition will open Sept. 24, and will establish the MIND Imaging Center as one of the most technologically advanced facilities in the United States.
The PNDH project, which will house the UNM MIND Imaging Center, The MIND Institute and the UNM BRAIN Center, is expanding the existing facility by 42,315 square feet and will support research and patient treatment. The facility will bring together leading-edge neuro-imaging equipment and researchers. All New Mexicans being treated at the MIND Institute will have the most recent, cutting-edge technology available in healthcare programs today.
Among the technologies the new facility will introduce is the Magneto encephalography (MEG), a state-of-the-art medical imaging technology that enables researchers and clinicians a window into the function of the human brain through the measurement of electromagnetic activity.
MEG is able to locate brain activity associated with real-time brain function at a very high accuracy. Complex epilepsy and pre-surgical mapping of normal brain function are applications available by MEG. Combined with the more familiar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), MEG has amazing capabilities.
“The two modalities (MEG and MRI) provide unparalleled insight into the function of the human brain, and greatly enhance diagnostic capabilities,” said Manager of Information Systems and Technology at the MIND Institute, Robert Christner. “We will be receiving new-generation technology systems to enhance data collection and processing — the first of its kind.”
The remainder of the expansion is scheduled for completion in May of 2005. Throughout the construction phases, patients, students and faculty have had access to the facility. The original Domenici Hall facility remains open for business and maintains full patient clinics.
The PNDH expansion, which began January 5 of this year, has a budget of $17.3 million. Jack B. Henderson Construction Co. is the primary constructor, while Westwork Architects is heading up all design. The facility is located on the UNM north campus at 1101 Yale Blvd. NE, just west of the UNM North Golf Course.
The UNM Health Sciences Center is committed to disease oriented research that particularly influences New Mexico’s population, including mental illness, alcoholism, multiple sclerosis, and other neurological diseases and brain injuries.
The PNDH is a specific example of UNM’s commitment to provide its students, staff, community members and patients with the best facilities for education and treatment.
Contact: Allie Thompson, (505) 277-7584