Iseult MRI machine, world's most powerful, unveiled by CEA; can capture brain images in 4 minutes

livemint.com:

India Today. Setting a new benchmark as the world's most powerful MRI scanner, the machine's cutting-edge technology boasts an unparalleled magnetic field strength of 11.7 Teslas. The CEA claims that the images are the result of over two decades of rigorous research and development. ALSO READ: Mars exploration: NASA's Curiosity searches for new clues about ancient water Adding more details, the report said that the CEA aimed to construct an MRI machine that is capable of providing insights into the healthy and diseased human brain with unmatched resolution.

Now the results are beginning to pour, with the machine offering a glimpse into the intricate workings of the brain's anatomy, connections, and activity. Among other things, the report said that the Iseult MRI machine can acquire highly detailed anatomical images of the brain in just about four minutes. Currently, the MRI scanners currently available in hospitals take hours to acquire highly detailed anatomical images of the brain and they operate at lower magnetic field strengths of 1.5 or 3 Teslas.

Adding more details, the images through the Iseult MRI machine can boast an impressive 0.2 mm in-plane resolution and 1 mm slice thickness. Also, it can capture a volume equivalent to a few thousand neurons. Scientists claim that this machine would help open up new avenues for exploring the brain's mechanisms, which would include how mental representations are encoded and the neuronal signatures associated with consciousness.