The Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (ELH) looks back on two decades of excellent research, international cooperation and technological pioneering work in the field of ultra-high field (UHF) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Founded in 2005 by the University of Duisburg-Essen and Radboud University, Nijmegen, the German-Dutch institute dedicated to the research and application of UHF MRI is now celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

"The Erwin L. Hahn Institute is a unique example of German-Dutch scientific cooperation. The institute was one of the pioneering centres in the early days of 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging and has been making important contributions to the development of brain and body imaging ever since," says Prof. Dr. David Norris, Scientific Director of the ELH.

One focus of research at the ELH is the diagnosis of prostate cancer: 7T MRI now makes it possible to detect more and smaller lymph nodes. In the neurosciences, scientists at the ELH are researching, among other things, how pain is processed in the human body and whether learned fear reactions can be unlearned (Collaborative Research Centre 1280 ‘Extinction Learning’). As a result of the joint work at the ELH, gaming/gambling addiction was classified as a disease by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a behavioural addiction (based on the work of Research Group 2974, among others).

When it was founded, the Erwin L. Hahn Institute was the seventh research centre in the world to have a magnetic resonance imaging scanner with a field strength of 7 Tesla. In 2020, the new MAGNETOM Terra 7-Tesla MRI system, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), replaced its predecessor: ‘This 7T MRI system is faster and more powerful than the original MR system, ensuring that the scientists on site can continue to conduct cutting-edge research in the future,’ says Prof Dr Harald H. Quick, Managing Director at the ELH. ‘To lay the foundation for the next decade of the research, an upgrade of the MRI system is now being planned.’

Throughout the year, a series of special events is planned to celebrate this milestone in the history of the ELH: https://hahn-institute.de/en/info/anniversary-event

Press Release UDE