The world's most powerful MRI scanner delivers first images of the human brain, reaching new levels of precision and hopes to shed further light on our mysterious minds and the diseases that plague them It has been.
Researchers from the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) first used the machine to scan pumpkins in 2021. But health authorities recently gave the go-ahead for human scans.
Over the past few months, about 20 healthy volunteers have become the first to be tested in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine. The device is located in the Saclay Plateau region south of Paris, where many technology companies and universities are based.
“With CEA, we have confirmed a level of precision that has never been reached before,'' said Alexandre Vigneault, a physicist working on the project.
The magnetic field produced by the scanner is a whopping 11.7 Tesla, and this unit of measurement is named after inventor Nikola Tesla.
This ability allows the machine to scan images 10 times more accurately than MRIs commonly used in hospitals, which typically do not exceed 3 Tesla.
On his computer screen, Vigneault compared the images taken by the powerful scanner, called Isolt, with those taken by a regular MRI.
“With this machine, we can see details of the cerebellum and the tiny blood vessels that feed the cerebral cortex, which were largely invisible until now,” he said.
France's research minister, Sylvie Letailault, who is herself a physicist, said: “The precision is incredible!”
“This world-first technology allows us to better detect and treat brain pathologies,” he said in a statement to AFP.
illuminate areas of the brain
The machine houses a 132-ton magnet in a cylinder 5 meters (16 feet) long and high, powered by a coil carrying a 1,500-amp current.
There is a 90 centimeter (3 foot) opening into which a person can slip.
The design is the result of 20 years of research by a partnership of French and German engineers.
The United States and South Korea are similarly working on powerful MRI machines, but have not yet begun scanning images of humans.
One of the main goals of such powerful scanners is to better understand the anatomy of the brain and which areas are activated when the brain performs certain tasks.
Scientists have already used MRI to show that different areas of the cerebral cortex are activated when the brain recognizes specific things, such as faces, places, and words.
By harnessing the power of 11.7 Tesla, Isolde, the project's scientific director, said: “We will be able to better understand the relationship between brain structure and cognitive functions, for example when reading a book or doing mental arithmetic.” , said Nicolas Boulin.
Tracing the trajectory of Alzheimer's disease
Researchers hope that the scanner's capabilities could also shed light on the elusive mechanisms behind neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, or psychological conditions such as depression and schizophrenia. ing.
“For example, we know that a particular region of the brain, the hippocampus, is involved in Alzheimer's disease, so we hope to be able to understand how cells function in this part of the cerebral cortex.” said the researcher. Anne-Isabelle Etiennevre.
Scientists also want to understand how certain drugs, such as lithium, used to treat bipolar disorder, are distributed in the brain.
The powerful magnetic field produced by MRI provides a clearer image of which parts of the brain are being targeted by lithium. This can help identify which patients respond well or poorly to the drug.
“The better we understand these highly harmful diseases, the sooner they can be diagnosed and the more appropriately treated they can be,” Etiembre said.
For the time being, ordinary patients will not be able to use Isolde's powerful powers to see inside their own brains.
Boulin said the machine was “not intended to be a clinical diagnostic tool, but we hope that the knowledge learned can be used in hospitals.”
Additional healthy patients will be recruited for brain scans in the coming months.
The machine will not be used on symptomatic patients for several years.
Get the latest updates on trending news, viral videos, photos from India and around the world
