Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Owing to the many technical and physical challenges encountered at the higher magnetic field strength, 7-Tesla MRI technology is currently being investigated at only a limited number of research institutes throughout the world (currently around 30). One of the main goals of the Erwin L. Hahn Institute is to exploit the advantages of 7-Tesla technology throughout the entire body and facilitate its widespread dissemination.
The main promise of ultra-high field MRI has been of increased spatial resolution for both anatomical imaging and functional MRI. The main perceived drawbacks of 7T MRI have been non-uniformities in the transmit/receive radiofrequency fields. The Erwin L. Hahn Institute is in a unique position to tackle these problems; it is widely acknowledged as having one of the world's leading groups specialised in mastering the effects of non-uniformities in the radiofrequency magnetic fields, particularly with regard to cardiac and abdominal imaging. A self-developed system to manipulate the transmit field has therefore been successfully implemented. In partnership with University Hospital Essen, the Institute has access to a broad range of pathologies and the possibility of collaboration with excellent clinical partners. In 2009, the Hahn Institute published the world's first studies of brain activation in the human at the resolution of the cortical lamina and also high-resolution images of the human hippocampus.