Using the 3 Tesla scanner

Beckman's 3 Tesla magnet allows for high signal-to-noise and high spatial resolution imaging through high-performance gradient sets and 64-channel receiver systems. It has a full complement of coils for whole-body imaging, including spine matrix array, transmit/receive knee and wrist coils and flexible matrix arrays of varying sizes that allow for MRI examinations of any body part.

BIC has full-time research staff members dedicated to the human MRI scanner who work with investigators to help design and implement their imaging studies, and can program custom pulse sequences to meet specific needs.

Additional MRI access is available through the Carle Clinical Research Imaging Program at Carle Health, enabling translational imaging research.

About the scanner

The 3 Tesla MAGNETOM Prisma-Fit Human MR imager/spectrometer 60 cm bore system provides gradient strengths of up to 80 mT/m on all axes, a slew rate of 200 T/m/s, force balanced gradients, dual channel transmit.

Available coils include a 1-channel Tx/20-channel Rx head coil, 64-channel Rx head/neck coil, 32-channel Rx spine coil, 18-channel Rx body coil, 16-channel Rx hand/wrist coil, 16-channel Rx shoulder coil, 1-channel Tx/15-channel Rx Knee coil, and 4-channel large and small flex coils. Additional coils include a 1Tx/ 8Rx head coil, 24- and 26-cm inner diameter 8-channel Rx-only coils, and a small rat coil for small phantoms. One of the two systems is multinuclear, with ⁷, ¹³C, ²³Na, and ³¹P coils available.

A research agreement with Siemens provides pulse sequence programming access. The proposal includes funds to purchase a shoulder coil for use on this system.

3 Tesla MRI scanner contact