“We are delighted to welcome HRH The Princess Royal to the Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences. This project is an exemplar of the type of world-class research that we conduct at King’s, and it is a great honour to have the opportunity to show Her Royal Highness our commitment to be in service to society.”
Professor Richard Trembath, Senior Vice President (Health and Life Sciences) King’s College London and Executive Director, King’s Health Partners
11 March 2024
King's College London welcomes The Princess Royal to the Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences
On Friday 8 March 2024, The Princess Royal, in her role as Chancellor of the University of London, met with researchers, clinicians and collaborators of the UNITY Project at the Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, King’s College London, to learn about the introduction of non-invasive, low-cost portable MRIs to sub-Saharan African and South Asian countries.
The UNITY (Ultra low-field Neuroimaging In The Young) Consortium is a project led by Professor Steve Williams, Head of the Centre and Professor of Imaging Sciences at King’s, and now sees 25 portable scanners distributed across 15 countries to assess brain health and development in babies and young children.
Her Royal Highness was accompanied by Mr Anthony Griffiths, Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London, Professor Wendy Thomson, Vice-Chancellor of the University of London, Professor Richard Trembath, Senior Vice President (Health and Life Sciences) King’s College London and Executive Director, King’s Health Partners and Professor Matthew Hotopf, Executive Dean of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s.
During the visit, Her Royal Highness met with researchers from both King’s and Hyperfine®, who developed the portable scanner used by UNITY project.
Her Royal Highness was shown a demonstration of the scanner to see first-hand the ease of use of this system. She also talked to researchers and clinicians who are currently using these scanners in different settings, including countries that have benefited from using them outside the confines of a typical radiology department.
“It's with great pride that we're able to host Her Royal Highness at the Institute. The UNITY project is testament to our ongoing determination to transform care for people affected by mental illness and neurological conditions, no matter where in the world they live.”
Professor Matthew Hotopf, Executive Dean of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s
Her Royal Highness also learned about the various research areas within the UNITY project, including how maternal nutrition and environment can impact brain development.
“It is a great pleasure for us to introduce HRH The Princess Royal to the UNITY project. We hope that these portable MRI scanners will revolutionise neuroscience, providing global access to brain imaging. This collaborative project has a common goal - to improve quality of life for mothers and their children across the world.”
Professor Steve Williams, Head of the Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences and Professor of Imaging Sciences
The project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, brings together community, clinical, academic and industry partners globally to improve the use of the portable scanners through trainings and knowledge sharing.
Hyperfine’s collaboration with King’s College London has further enabled our vision of making brain MRI accessible anywhere in the world become a reality at the Unity program sites. The collaboration with global luminaries in the field of MR has augmented our portable brain MRI technology, and most importantly, has given us the incredibly rewarding experience of helping hundreds of children, their families and clinicians in low-resource settings.”
Maria Sainz, President and CEO of Hyperfine
The Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences is home to Department of Neuroimaging in the School of Neuroscience. The centre also provides NHS services under the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.
In this story
Senior Vice President (Health & Life Sciences) and Executive Director of King’s Health Partners
Executive Dean, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience
Professor of Neuroimaging