The world’s most powerful MRI scanner ‘Iseult’ has delivered its first images of human brains, reaching a new level of precision.
- Researchers at France’s Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) first used the machine to scan a pumpkin back in 2021. But health authorities recently gave them the green light to scan humans.
- The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine is located in the Plateau de Saclay area south of Paris.
- The magnetic field created by the scanner is a whopping 11.7 teslas, a unit of measurement named after inventor Nikola Tesla.
- This power allows the machine to scan images with 10 times more precision than the MRIs commonly used in hospitals, whose power does not normally exceed three teslas.
- Harnessing the power of 11.7 teslas will help Iseult to better understand the relationship between the brain’s structure and cognitive functions.
- The researchers hope that the scanner’s power could also shed light on the elusive mechanisms behind neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s — or psychological conditions like depression or schizophrenia.
