The 9.4T scanner has long been somewhat of a headache for FPN. It was used far less than expected when it arrived in Maastricht in 2013 alongside two other models, the 3T and the 7T. Each year, the faculty and other Scannexus partners pay a fixed fee towards maintaining the scanners and their supporting infrastructure. Until 2022, this annual fee was €1 million; since then, it has been reduced to €605,000. In return, partners receive scanning hours. While the 3T and 7T scanners are almost always fully booked, scanning hours for the 9.4T often went unused.
Complex machine
Why is this? The 9.4T is a highly advanced and complex machine. Learning to use it and interpret its results correctly requires a significant investment of time. On top of that, researchers must spend money from their own research budgets to use the scanner. For many, this is only financially viable if they’ve secured grant funding – something that has become increasingly difficult in recent years.
In 2023, the faculty established the FPN Scanning Fund to encourage use of the scanner. Although the fund is fully used each year, it hasn’t been enough to justify keeping the 9.4T. The 3T and 7T models will remain available to FPN and other partners, the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences and MUMC+.
For sale
The two researchers who were actively using the 9.4T will need to switch to one of the other scanners or travel to Germany to continue their work. In several years, researchers may also have access to a brand-new 14T scanner – the first of its kind, even more powerful and detailed than the 9.4T – currently under construction in Nijmegen. The 9.4T scanner in Maastricht is now up for sale, but as yet there have been no potential buyers.