The University of Minnesota has become the first to take an MRI of the entire human body using a 10.5 Tesla magnet, according to a Feb. 28 university news release.
Researchers at the school's Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR) conducted the imaging scans in December with the whole-body imaging 10.5 Tesla magnet. The magnet weighs 110 tons and has a magnetic field strength 10 times greater than a standard MRI.
Kamil Ugurbil, PhD, director of CMRR and professor of medicine, neurosciences and radiology at the University of Minnesota Medical School, explained the scans were "a gratifying milestone after years of preparation", according to the news release.
The 10.5 Tesla was a project started in 2008 with the help of $8 million donated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Since its approval from the FDA, the 10.5 Tesla has been the center of numerous research projects at the CMRR and will continue to be through imaging specific parts of the human body going forward, according to the news release.
"Given that most of the Human Connectome Project was conducted with a 3-Tesla magnet, the much stronger 10.5-Tesla magnet promises to be the right tool for unlocking new discoveries and keeping the U of M at the forefront of neuroscience research," Ugurbil said in a prepared statement. “This is an instrument with which we want to push the boundaries of imaging brain function."
A recent graduate from Dominican University (IL) with a bachelor’s in journalism, Melissa joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering all aspects of health imaging. She’s a fan of singing and playing guitar, elephants, a good cup of tea, and her golden retriever Cooper.