The same attractive properties that pin objects to magnetic surfaces like your fridge can be used to save lives through the use of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. If you've never received an MRI scan, scanners are essentially used to look inside the body using a combination of magnets and radio waves, according to the National Institutes of Health. When doctors want to scan your body using MRI technology, fear not, as no radiation is involved. Wondering what types of magnets are used in MRIs? Check out this blog post.  Still, MRI scanners have the potential to save your life, as they could identify a blocked blood vessel in your veins or a growing tumor in your brain. No matter where in your body doctors are scanning, you have magnetic fields to thank for any problems the machinery detects. Massive scanner on the way Thanks to the strong magnets present inside MRI scanners, these machines are incredibly powerful. However, a new MRI scanner currently being developed is expected to put all others to shame. The new scanner, which is being built by the University of Freiburg in Germany, has been dubbed "Imaging of Neuro disease Using high-field MR and Contrastophores," according to The Independent. Since this isn't the easiest name to remember, most people just know it as INUMAC. While most MRI machines produce a magnetic field that's between 1.5 and 3 teslas, INUMAC will generate one that's 11.75 teslas. That's so strong that it could lift the weight of five London buses, the British news source reported! The scanner has been a long time coming, with construction beginning in 2006. Once finished, the machine will have the ability to image areas as tiny as 0.1 millimeters. This is significant, as the average hospital MRI scanner has a spatial resolution of about 1 millimeter. According to IEEE Spectrum, the University of Illinois at Chicago and Maastricht University in the Netherlands are each using MRI scanners strong enough to generate 9.4 teslas. Close, but not as powerful as INUMAC. Magnet News From Apex Magnets Update - as of 2019, a new superconducting magnet has been created by MagLab at FSU with a record-breaking 45.5-tesla magnetic field intensity. Read about it here! For the latest magnet news delivered straight to your inbox every month, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter.