The Siemens 'Prisma' replaces the older system which was previously used at the Oxford Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB).
The new scanner has a specification that is targeted to research. Features include a significantly better gradient coil - better even than that on the centre's 7 Tesla - and improved stability, as well as many times the computer processing power.
FMRIB physicists and radiographers have already spent time working on an identical system in the factory in Germany, which means that they should be ready for the first research studies to start at the beginning of June.