Synopsis

The understanding of the human brain is a major challenge of the 21st century. In the early 2000s the French Atomic Energy Commission launched the Iseult project, a program to build a “human brain explorer”, the first whole-body MRI scanner operating at 11.7T. Since 2017 the outstanding magnet has been delivered and commissioned at NeuroSpin. The project aims, the system specifications, technological challenges and the solutions which have been chosen to overcome them are presented. Lines of the research and development which will be necessary to fully exploit the potential of this and other UHF MRI scanners are also outlined.