Key highlights
- Indiana University’s iMRI/CMR Center of Excellence is now open, creating a model environment for advancing MRI-guided interventions.
- The collaboration will research cardiac and pediatric procedures, image-guided needle biopsies, localized drug delivery, medical device integration with imaging, and workforce training.
- The center will serve as a model for hospitals and health systems building their own MRI-guided procedural suites and programs.
Indianapolis, Ind. — Cook Medical and Indiana University have opened the Indiana University Interventional MRI (iMRI) Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) Center of Excellence, marking the next phase of their collaboration to advance MRI-guided interventions and support the translation of iMRI technology into everyday patient treatment.
Cook IMRI Center of Excellence Opening at IU Indianapolis on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (Photo by Liz Kaye/Indiana University)
Leaders from both organizations marked the opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Medical Imaging Research Institute (MIRI) at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. The event celebrated the center’s launch and the collaborative work ahead.
What will the iMRI Center of Excellence do?
The iMRI/CMR Center of Excellence at Indiana University will investigate how interventional MRI can support new procedures and expand the applications of existing techniques. Its research will focus on several areas:
- Cardiac and pediatric procedures: Investigating MRI-guided approaches for procedures involving cardiac and pediatric patients, with the goal of expanding the applications of interventional MRI.
- Image-guided needle biopsies: Exploring ways to use MRI to guide needle biopsies of the prostate, liver, kidneys, and lungs, expanding the potential applications of MRI-guided tissue sampling.
- Localized drug delivery: Researching MRI-guided approaches to delivering medication directly to targeted areas of the body.
- Medical device and imaging integration: Developing and evaluating technologies that integrate medical devices with MRI systems to help physicians visualize anatomy and guide instruments during procedures.
- Workforce training. The center will be used to train radiology technologists and MR technologists in new interventional procedures. The center will host practicums and other training programs.
Through institutional review board (IRB)-approved human studies, researchers will evaluate and refine emerging procedures before broader adoption in clinical practice or progression to larger clinical trials, as appropriate. This work will help establish evidence and procedural approaches needed to assess new applications of interventional MRI.
Quotes
“Opening the Indiana University iMRI/CMR Center of Excellence marks a pivotal step toward a more precise, radiation-free future for minimally invasive care,” said Peter Polverini, vice president of Cook Medical’s iMRI division. “Cook brings experience in medical device creation and testing as well as our expertise in iMRI. We’re excited to combine our strengths with IU’s medical training background and renowned research capabilities.”
“The opening of this center gives IU and Cook Medical a place to turn promising MRI-guided ideas into procedures we can study, refine and teach,” said Rohan Dharmakumar, executive director of the Medical Imaging Research Institute and vice chair of Research of Radiology and Imaging Sciences. “This is what a strong research and industry partnership can accomplish: Cook’s device development expertise helps shape the questions our researchers investigate, and IU’s clinical and imaging expertise helps turn the answers into practical advances. Together, we’re creating a path for promising ideas to be evaluated, improved and eventually brought into patient care.”
About the Center of Excellence
In March 2026, Cook Medical named Indiana University one of its Centers of Excellence for iMRI and CMR procedures, citing the university’s strength in clinical, imaging, and engineering research. The partnership is designed to speed the development, validation, and clinical integration of MRI-guided technologies, with the goal of making certain procedures safer, more precise, and less invasive for patients.
The Center of Excellence builds on a five-year agreement announced in 2025 between Cook Medical and the Indiana University Launch Accelerator for Biosciences to translate IU research into real-world health care applications.
Learn More About iMRI
Health systems interested in developing an iMRI program, or physicians interested in training opportunities at the center can learn more on Cook Medical’s iMRI page.
FAQs
What is interventional MRI?
Interventional MRI (iMRI) uses magnetic resonance imaging to guide minimally invasive procedures in real time. It gives physicians detailed soft-tissue imaging without ionizing radiation.
What is the Indiana University iMRI/CMR Center of Excellence?
The Indiana University iMRI/CMR Center of Excellence is a collaborative center between Cook Medical and Indiana University focused on advancing interventional MRI from technology development through clinical application.
What will happen at the Center of Excellence?
The center will host research, clinical collaboration, technology development, and physician education related to interventional MRI, bringing physicians, researchers, and engineers together under one roof.
About Cook Medical
At Cook Medical, we are passionate about making unique, quality medical devices and connecting with people to improve lives. Founded on inventing, manufacturing, and delivering medical devices, we provide healthcare professionals with the tools they need to help their patients return to living.
Our commitment to innovation involves bringing new products to market and keeping existing products relevant to a changing healthcare landscape. We believe in using our business to help people and communities thrive by creating inclusive, supportive, and healthy environments.
We are proud of our history of innovative firsts and the impact we have on patients and communities. With headquarters in Bloomington, Indiana, and manufacturing facilities and offices in various global locations, we challenge ourselves to maintain a global perspective while focusing on local impact.
Follow Cook Medical at CookMedical.com and on LinkedIn.
About Indiana University
Indiana University is one of the nation’s leading public research universities, with nearly 90,000 students across seven campuses, two regional academic centers and nine School of Medicine campuses. Since 1820, Indiana University has helped students create brighter futures, while also driving innovation, from breakthroughs in DNA technology to cancer research to trailblazing cultural programs and resources. IU is home to world-class academics with the country’s largest medical school, the world’s first school of philanthropy, the top-ranked Kelley School of Business and O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering, the nation’s first school of informatics. The university’s campuses are united by IU 2030, an aspirational vision for a bold and ambitious future focused on student success and opportunity, transformative research and creativity, and service to the state of Indiana and beyond. Learn more at iu.edu.