New MRIs MAGNETOM Terra.X (7 Tesla) and MAGNETOM Cima.X (3 Tesla) - planned for the Campus of Cognition

Cooperation between the MPI for Human Development, MPI for Empirical Aesthetics (Frankfurt am Main) and the MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (Leipzig) enables large-scale joint research

The Max Planck Institute for Human Development (MPIB) is expanding its research infrastructure in the field of cognitive neuroscience with the purchase of additional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners from Siemens Healthineers. The scanners, MAGNETOM Terra.X (7 Tesla) and MAGNETOM Cima.X (3 Tesla), will be housed at the Max Planck Dahlem Campus of Cognition.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been in use at the MPI for Human Development (MPIB) for over ten years. Now, the existing MR laboratory will grow, adding two more devices of the latest generation with magnetic field strengths of 3 and 7 Tesla. With its fivefold higher gradient strength, the new 3-T device offers richer signals than the device currently in use at the institute, making it particularly suitable for studies of brain microstructure. The 7-T device, on the other hand, is particularly used when a higher image resolution is required, for example, to allow a deep look into the brain. The combination of the most powerful 3-T and 7-T devices currently available on the market enables the examination of various age groups, from children to young and older adults, using the best possible imaging techniques.

The new large-scale equipment will be located on the new Max Planck Dahlem Campus of Cognition of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development. It offers 2,700 square meters of office space and laboratory infrastructure for MPIB scientists, integrated and cross-location campus research groups and international guests.  "The purchase brings us a step closer to our vision of establishing the Max Planck Dahlem Campus of Cognition as a research hub in Berlin with international appeal," says Managing Director Ralph Hertwig of the MPI for Human Development. 

In addition to the Center for Lifespan Psychology, the Lise Meitner Group for Environmental Neuroscience, the ERC-funded research group Adaptive Memory and Decision Making and the Max Planck Research Groups NeuroCode |  Neural and Computational Basis of Learning, Memory and Decision Making as well as the Max Planck Research Group MR Physics will also benefit from the expanded MRI infrastructure.

Specifically, Siawoosh Mohammadi, head of the Max Planck Research Group MR Physics, plans to use the devices to research and implement reproducible and stable MR physics methods. He wants to compare the MRI sequences acquired on the different MR systems (3T or 7 T) in terms of their reproducibility and their sensitivity to changes over time. To this end, he will draw on data from the day2day study, an ongoing study by the Lise Meitner Group for Environmental Neuroscience, in which participants are scanned once or twice a week over a period of three to six months.

The purchase is part of a larger deal between three Max Planck Institutes – including the MPI for Human Development (Berlin), the MPI for Empirical Aesthetics (Frankfurt am Main) and the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (Leipzig) – and Siemens Healthineers. The joint acquisition of scanners of the same type is intended to create the basis for cross-divisional, large-scale research projects within the Max Planck Society – for example, for large-scale neuroimaging studies coordinated at all three institutes. To this end, it is necessary to use MR devices from the same manufacturer everywhere in order to achieve the highest possible degree of compatibility. Only this will enable parallel data acquisition with identical protocols in Berlin, Frankfurt and Leipzig and the creation of large and diverse data sets.


Pictures: MPIB (6), Siemens Healthcare GmbH 2023 (2)