A researcher at the University of Saskatchewan has designed what could be the next breakthrough in MRI technology. Gordon Sarty had a model of his compact MRI on display Sunday at the Brain Blast event at the City Hospital.
Sarty has designed an MRI unit that is much smaller than the ones in use today.
He is raising funds to build and test the compact MRI, which he says would be 10 times cheaper than those currently in use.
"It's small enough that we could even take it into space," Sarty said.
The compact MRI was just one of many U of S research projects on display at the event.
John Howland is researching possible causes of psychophrenia. He says they've discovered a possible link between the disease and an in-utero infection.
Howland and his team will also be using a revolutionary new technique to research psychophrenia treatments, called opto-genetics. By inserting light-sensitive proteins into brain cells, they can shine different wavelengths of light on the brain to affect how the brain operates.
"We can try to develop therapeutic techniques to improve the cognitive deficiencies that we see in patients with psychophrenia," Howland said.
The Brain Blast event is designed to increase public awareness on the progress of brain research, and wraps up Brain Awareness Week. It's also a chance for U of S researchers to inform the public on their studies into the human brain.
