World's Most Powerful MRI Reveals First Images of Human Brain: A Breakthrough in Neuroscience

World's Most Powerful MRI Reveals First Images of Human Brain: With its first images of human brains, the world's most powerful MRI scanner sheds light on how our minds work and how diseases affect them.

Researchers at France's Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) first used the machine in 2021 to scan pumpkins, and now health authorities have approved it for humans.

Around 20 healthy volunteers have entered the maw of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine in the Plateau de Saclay area south of Paris, which is home to many technology companies and universities.

"We have seen a level of precision never seen before at CEA," said Alexandre Vignaud, a physicist.

Inventor Nikola Tesla named the magnetic field created by his scanner 11.7 teslas, a unit of measurement.

Its power allows it to scan images with 10 times the precision of hospital MRIs, whose power does not usually exceed three teslas.

Vignaud compared the images taken by this mighty scanner, called Iseult, with those taken by a normal MRI on a computer screen.

"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," he said.

The precision is almost unbelievable, said France's research minister Sylvie Retailleau, herself a physicist.

In a statement to AFP, she said, "This world-first will allow better detection and treatment of brain disorders."

French and German engineers designed a five-meter MRI machine with a 132-tonne magnet and a coil carrying 1,500 amps. It has a 90-centimetre opening for humans.

By using this powerful scanner, we will refine our understanding of the brain's anatomy and active areas during specific tasks. MRIs have already demonstrated that when the brain recognizes specific things, distinct areas of the cerebral cortex activate.

With 11.7 teslas of power, scientists will be able to examine the relationship between the brain's structure and cognitive function.

The Centre for Advanced Medical Research (CEA) is developing a scanner that could aid in understanding neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, depression, and schizophrenia.

Researchers can map out how certain drugs, such as lithium, are distributed through the brain with the scanner, which could help identify patients who will respond better or worse to the drug.

It is not intended to be a clinical diagnostic tool, but hospitals can use the knowledge learned from the scanner. For several years, the machine will not be used on patients with conditions, and a new batch of healthy patients will be recruited to have brain scans in the coming months.

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