A Close Look Into the Brain
Powerful hybrid device: 9.4-T MR-PET
Insight into the human brain – completely without anaesthesia and scalpel, but more detailed than ever before: at the Jülich Institute of Neurosciences and Medicine, an internationally unique device is in operation: 9.4-tesla magnetic resonance tomograph (MRT) combined with a positron emission tomograph (PET). With this combined device, scientists develop new techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of neurological brain diseases. In fact, it delivers images of the human brain of previously unobtainable precision. The reason for this is the magnetic field of the MRT. With a field strength of 9.4 tesla, it is up to six times higher than that of usual devices – and 190,000 times higher than the magnetic field of the Earth.
Mechanism: The Combination of MRT and PET is Decisive
It is the combination of magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) and positron emission tomography (PET) merged in this so far unique device which opens up new perspectives for researchers. The hybrid device with a field strength of 9.4 tesla provides high-resolution images of the brain structure which simultaneously show the functional activities occurring in the healthy and diseased brain.
More: Mechanism: The Combination of MRT and PET is Decisive …
Better Diagnostic Opportunities
The simultaneous measurement of brain structures and metabolic processes will in future open up new opportunities for exploring neurodegenerative diseases such as epilepsy, stroke, Alzheimer's or multiple sclerosis. With the new combined device, researchers will soon be able to locate diseased tissue and disturbances in the metabolism in the brain precisely down to the millimetre.
More: Better Diagnostic Opportunities …