First Brains Unlimited scanners delivered

Press release 4 July 2012

Maastricht University’s Brains Unlimited project has reached another milestone with the installation of the first two scanners (3 and 7 tesla). The construction of the new scanner lab is running well and to schedule. Both scanners will be commissioned after the summer (probably in September). At that time the new premises of the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience will also be in use, and components of the new Principles and Applications of MRI master’s programme will be launched. The largest and most important scanner (9.4 tesla) is expected to be delivered in December 2012. The scanner lab will then be fully operational in the spring of 2013.

Brains Unlimited is part of the Maastricht Health Campus and serves as an imaging platform for scientists and corporate users. It is conducting research into frequently occurring illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, epilepsy, schizophrenia and MS, but also into the development of human behaviour. The scanner lab is part of a larger entity. The same location will also accommodate spin-off companies (new buildings for the Biopartner Centre Maastricht) and new premises for the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience.

The Brains Unlimited project performs high-quality scientific research into illnesses and human behaviour using three MRI scanners, supplied by Siemens Healthcare Nederland. One of these scanners has an ultra-high magnetic field of 9.4 tesla. Only three of these powerful scanners exist in the world, and Siemens is the world’s only manufacturer which can deliver this MRI scanner. The underlying MRI technology is in constant development, based on research on which Maastricht University also collaborates.

Note for editors:
For more information about the contents of this press release please contact Ross McLennan, tel. 043 3881242, e-mail r.mclennan@brains-unlimited.com
The UM Marketing & Communications Department can be contacted on +31 43 388 5222 or at pers@maastrichtuniversity.nl. For urgent matters outside office hours, please call +31 6 4602 4992.

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