French researchers are developing what they say is the world's largest MRI scanner that will enable early diagnosis of diseases such as Parkinson's disease. The device has a large magnet in the weight of the blue whale.
"We may be able to detect the disease in its early stages and therefore monitor it more closely," said Nicholas Bolan, scientific director of the project.
The new X-ray machine, developed by French researchers, includes a new large cylindrical magnet, but much heavier than those currently used.
The giant magnet is five meters long and also five meters in diameter and weighs 130 metric tons, the weight of a blue whale.
The project will also allow scientists "to better understand the brain and how it works and to study the characteristics of things related to the human race, such as music, mathematics and language," Bolan said.