McGovern Institute gets new brain scanner
MRI will be used for a wide range of studies on brain function.
After months of planning and construction, we are delighted to report that we have installed a new 3-tesla MRI scanner for human neuroimaging. The $2M scanner, a Siemens Magnetom Trio, was delivered to the Martinos Imaging Center on July 25, 2013.
The core of the scanner is a large electromagnet, weighing around 13 tons and containing superconducting coils that are chilled in liquid helium to within a few degrees of absolute zero. It is housed in a custom-built room, with a specially reinforced floor to support the scanner’s weight, and with some 5000 steel panels to shield the system from RF interference.
The acquisition of the new scanner was made possible by Bruce Dayton, Jeffrey and Nancy Halis, the Simons Foundation, and an anonymous donor. The scanner is expected to be fully operational by the fall, and will be used for a wide range of studies on brain function, in both children and adults.
Click here to view a photo album of the MRI installation.
