When the scanners – there are three models 3, 7 and 9.4T, the higher the number the more advanced the machine – arrived in Maastricht in 2013, they were housed in a company: Scannexus (previously Brains Unlimited). FPN, the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences and MUMC+ are all three permanent partners of Scannexus and pay for a fixed number of hours every year. This provides the company with the financial guarantee that is required to keep the scanners and the facilities around them running.
Until last year, FPN paid 1 million euro every year. Since 2022, the amount has been reduced to 605.000 euro. In exchange for that, the faculty receives a certain number of scanning hours, but these are never used up. In 2019 (the past two years are not representative due to Covid), for example, more than 344 thousand euro worth of hours remained unused, in 2018 the figure was 232 thousand euro. The faculty does not receive money for the unused hours, so this is wasted.
Complex machine
Why are all those hours not used? Firstly, the 9.4T scanner (the least used one) in particular is a very complex machine. The scanner is, capable of a lot, but it costs researchers a lot of time to (learn how to) work with it and to interpret the results correctly. In addition, the researchers have to pay for the use of the scanners – they use money from their own research budgets and so FPN receives back part of the the cost. For many researchers, the use of the scanners only fits into their budget if they have received a subsidy. However, chances of obtaining a grant have been diminishing the past few years.
Now there will be the FPN Scanning Fund. Of the 605.000 euro, the faculty is still hoping to earn back two thirds via external funding. FPN will ‘donate’ the remaining 205.000 euro to the researchers. They can submit an application to the faculty board for a pilot project or for extra scan hours within an existing project. A separate fund has been created for the 9.4T scanner, to stimulate the use of this even more. In addition, FPN wants to appoint more assistant professors who are interested in MRI research.