SACLAY: The most potent MRI scanner in the world has produced the first scans of a human brain, achieving a level of accuracy that is anticipated to provide further insight into our enigmatic minds and the diseases that plague them.
In 2021, scientists from the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) in France utilized the device for the first time to scan a pumpkin. However, health authorities have authorized them to scan people.
The first people to enter the maw of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine over the previous few months were about 20 healthy volunteers. The MRI machine is located in the Plateau de Saclay neighborhood, south of Paris, which is home to many institutions and technology enterprises.
As for the level of precision at CEA, physicist Alexandre Vignaud stated, “We have seen a level of precision never reached before.” A staggering 11.7 teslas, or Teslas, the unit of measurement for magnetic field generated by the scanner, is named after creator Nikola Tesla.
With this power, the scanner can scan images ten times more precisely than typical hospital MRIs, which typically have a power of no more than three teslas. Vignaud contrasted the pictures produced by this powerful scanner, called Iseult, with those from a typical MRI on a computer screen.
