Photo by John Russell
Workers prepare to install the magnet core of a 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner in the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science at the corner of Garland Avenue and 21st Avenue South. One of fewer than 10 such systems in the world, the $7 million scanner will enable researchers to generate images of the body down to the molecular level. One Tesla is roughly 20,000 times the strength of the earth's magnetic field. The institute's new building is expected to be completed this fall.