- By Kamal Kumar
- Tue, 02 Apr 2024 07:41 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
World's Strongest MRI Scanner: The first images of human brains taken by the world's strongest MRI scanner signify a major step towards precision that will offer promising insights into the mysterious workings of our minds and the diseases that affect them. The MRI scanner developed by France's Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) researchers recently clicked these images, reported AFP.
Earlier, before getting health authorities' approval to scan a human mind, they scanned a pumpkin in 2021. Over the past few months, around 20 people in good health have been the initial participants to undergo scans in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine situated in the Plateau de Saclay region, south of Paris. This area is known for hosting numerous technology firms and universities.
"We have seen a level of precision never reached before at CEA," said Alexandre Vignaud, a physicist working on the project.
The MRI scanner, named Iseult by the founders, creates a magnetic field of incredible magnitude standing at 11.7 teslas. This measurement is way above the conventional MRI scanners used in hospitals which goes up to a maximum of 3 tesla. With this extraordinary power, the machine produces an image 10 times more precise than the older scanners.
"With this machine, we can see the tiny vessels which feed the cerebral cortex or details of the cerebellum which were almost invisible until now," a researcher said.
France's research minister Sylvie Retailleau, herself a physicist, said "The precision is hardly believable!"
"This world-first will allow better detection and treatment for pathologies of the brain," she said in a statement to the news agency AFP.
A mind-mapping marvel
Iseult, developed by the French and German scientists together, took more than 20 years to finally come into being. The machine harbours a cylinder, measuring five meters (16 feet) in length and height. The machine accommodates a 132-ton magnet powered by a coil carrying a current of 1,500 amps. A 90-centimeter (three-foot) opening allows a human to slide into the machine.
The United States and South Korea are working on MRI machines that are just as powerful, but they have not started scanning humans yet, reported AFP.
Will help in better understanding Alzheimer's, Dementia
The powerful scans produced by the will help in better understanding the hidden causes of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's or Alzheimer's, as well as mental health conditions such as depression or schizophrenia.
"For example, we know that a particular area of the brain -- the hippocampus -- is implicated in Alzheimer's disease, so we hope to be able to find out how the cells work in this part of the cerebral cortex," said CEA researcher Anne-Isabelle Etienvre.