Upgrade of MRI scanners at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL.

Two MRI scanners at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging in London are being replaced and upgraded before they become obsolete. The centre’s current 1.5T and 3T scanners are approaching the end of their effective lifespan and lack the latest hardware advances. Without this upgrade, cutting-edge neuroscience programmes risk being compromised. The plan unfolds in two phases: within 12 months, the older 1.5T whole-body scanner will be replaced with a new 3T system, and the existing 3T head scanner will be upgraded from 4 to 8 receive channels. In 24 to 36 months, the head scanner will be replaced entirely, with the option to move to a 7T platform if scientific needs justify it. If successful, the upgrade will keep the centre’s imaging infrastructure reliable and diversified, making novel imaging approaches more tractable. This is primarily an infrastructure investment in fundamental neuroscience. It does not directly change clinical practice or everyday life. But without such upgrades, researchers lose the ability to observe brain activity at higher resolution and speed, slowing progress in understanding cognition, neurological disorders, and mental health. Past investments in scanner technology have enabled breakthroughs in mapping brain networks and detecting early signs of disease.