© Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission
These are previously unpublished images of the human brain which have been revealed by the Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA). They were obtained by Iseult, the most powerful MRI scanner in the world, as reported 20 minutes. This is a world first.
Images of the human brain at a new level of detail
The human brain revealed its many details with unprecedented precision after tests on a pumpkin carried out in 2021. It took 20 years of research and development for the CEA teams, located on the Saclay plateau in Essonne, to get there.
Several people volunteered to experiment with this MRI scanner with a magnetic field of 11.7 Tesla. It only took 4 minutes to obtain these images. “It would theoretically take several hours on an MRI implanted in the hospital [1,5 ou 3 teslas] for a similar result”explains the CEA.
Which is impossible at the moment for obvious reasons: it is uncomfortable to stay still for long hours. Patient movements “would blur” also the image obtained.
Different axial sections captured by the Iseult MRI scanner © Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission
According to the CEA, this is a major step forward for “understand how our brain encodes our mental representations, our learning or even [pour] discover what the neural signatures of the state of consciousness are”.
Elements impossible to acquire with current scanners. Iseult could also enable better diagnoses of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s.
A 132-ton magnet cooled to -271.35 degrees
An image of the cerebellum captured by the CAE MRI © Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission
For the technical part, the Iseult MRI scanner is equipped with a 132-ton magnet cooled to -271.35 degrees by 7,500 liters of liquid helium. The medical device is 5 meters wide but also long. It takes 5 hours to get up to speed.