The Center of Excellence High-field MRI arose from years of interdisciplinary research. Through numerous impressive and well-received projects, within a few years, a small group of almost 40 colleagues has successfully established themselves within the scientific community.
In 1996, through the installation of one of the world’s first 3 Tesla high-field MRI at The Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, an interdisciplinary scientific environment, along with several clinical and research institutes, was established.
Future Perspective
In the foreground, we aimed to lead the development of novel and unique technical methods, linked to modern diagnosis, in the area of high-field MRI in Europe.
Today, MRI is ubiquitous in modern medicine due to its versatility and lack of ionizing radiation, in contrast to CT.
In partnership with one of the most modern hospitals in Europe, the center has a unique and extraordinary potential to develop technical methods needed for basic science research and high-resolution images, as well as clinical research concerning functional neuroimaging and spectroscopy. The experience gained over many years will improve the clinical use of high-field MRI. For the first time, we are able to make diagnoses based purely on the morphological appearance of various diseases, using their molecular, functional and metabolic characteristics (see clinical applications). This development has revolutionized diagnostic imaging such that it could be redefined as “functional imaging”.
- Functional Neuroimaging can localize activity in the human brain. This information can be used to recognize healthy tissue during treatment.
- Spectroscopy can essentially recognize disease-related changes earlier than conventional imaging. This leads to quicker diagnosis and earlier treatment initiation.