On February 1, 2020, a revolutionary new tool to study brain structure and function — the NexGen 7T MRI brain scanner — was carefully lowered by crane into its new home at the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute (HWNI) at UC Berkeley.
The NexGen 7T MRI was developed by a team led by HWNI member David Feinberg, in partnership with Siemens, with support from the NIH BRAIN Initiative and the UC Berkeley Brain Initiative. Several other HWNI faculty members have been key collaborators on the project, including Chunlei Liu, who is one of the principal investigators.
The cutting-edge MRI scanner will allow scientists to visualize human brain structure and function at unprecedented resolution. It will be the first non-invasive means of observing activity in individual layers of the brain’s cerebral cortex and single cortical column microcircuits. This new technology is expected to dramatically improve our understanding of the brain, how it changes in disease, and the effectiveness of treatments. The NexGen 7T MRI will be operational for users by mid-2020.
Watch the video below to see amazing drone footage of the NexGen 7T MRI being delivered and placed into the basement of the Li Ka Shing Center.
Additional Information
- $13.4 million to build next-gen MRI brain scanner at UC Berkeley, Berkeley News, October 2017
