The brain as we have never seen it: the CEA reveals the first extraordinary images from the most powerful MRI in the world

À gauche, l’image du cerveau avec les IRM actuels, à droite, avec le super IRM. CEA

Developed after more than twenty years of research, the CEA super MRI, Iseult, has a magnetic field of 11.7 Tesla, compared to a maximum of 3 Tesla in the MRIs used today in health establishments. Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder… but also understanding the mechanisms at play in learning, reading, calculation, this MRI, the most powerful in the world, tested on 20 pioneers, opens up an unprecedented field of exploration.

"Watch our results, it will blow your mind !" Nicolas Boulant, research director at the CEA, presented this Monday by videoconference, in the presence of Sylvie Retailleau, Minister of Higher Education and Research, the super IRM Iseult, the fruit of twenty years of research which required an investment of 70 million euros.

The result is stunning: "We could say wow, it’s incredible", s& ;rsquo;the minister is enthusiastic about seeing the images, "incredible",of the brain as we have never seen it, obtained thanks to the development of a device with unequaled power: a magnetic field of 11.7 teslas, while the devices used in hospitals have a power of between 1.5 and 3 teslas.

The tool, with a unique profile, 132 tons, 5 meters long and 5 meters in diameter, 182 km of superconducting wires… is the fruit of the work of a multidisciplinary team of 200 people, from CEA but also from Alstom-General Electric which designed the superconducting magnet, Siemens, Guerbet, etc. ;University of Freiburg in Germany. It has just been tested on twenty healthy volunteers as part of the Prem’s study intended to show the safety of the ;rsquo;device.

The images of their brain, obtained in 4 minutes, have a much more precise definition, "at the neuron level", and we "provide information on the biochemistry of the brain, in particular the exchanges of phosphorus and caclium", specifies Nicolas Boulant, head of the Iseult project and first author of a study submitted for publication in the prestigious journal Nature.

Sagittal section of the brain (front to back). CEA

With Iseult, a whole new field of research is opening up in the field of health.

Alzheimer, Parkinson… what Isolde will allow us to see

Firstly on the diagnosis of diseases, particularly neurodegenerative: "In Parkinson's disease, with imaging that offers more clarity, contrast, resolution, we could see the disappearance of neurons twenty years before what we see today, when half of the neurons have disappeared" , underlines Nicolas Boulant.

The super MRI could also make it possible to identify another brain anomaly, the "Hypotrophy of the hippocampus", in Alzheimer's disease.

In terms of treatment, Iseult will be valuable for seeing, for example, the effects of lithium, used against bipolar disorders: by evaluating the distribution of the drug in the brain, it will allow us to better understand why it is effective.

We will have to wait a little: "It is on the horizon 2026-2030 that we will seek to explore certain neurodegenerative pathologies and diseases that fall under psychiatry", explains Nicolas Boulant, impatient to explore "an unknown world".

Better understand cognitive processes

Mais "Iseult is not limited to an application in the field of health" : "Isolde could allow us to better understand how the brain works in cognitive processes, reading, mental arithmetic, language", adds the scientist .

There is nevertheless one certainty: the device will primarily be used for research purposes, with applications to be defined. "To To date, it is not feasible to install it in a hospital environment, given the costs and complexity of use."