High, higher, high field? - at the 16th Erwin L. Han Lecture & Workshop on 25 October 2023, everything revolved around the progress and limits of ultra-high-field magnetic resonance imaging (UHF-MRI) for a whole day. In the usual cosy and relaxed atmosphere of the Oktogon, international, national and ELH scientists joined the event to report on their research.

The special focus was not only on the development of new coils, but also, for example, on the practical application of a 7Tesla scanner in oncology. Among others, Ansje Fortuin from Radboud University showed how the higher sensitivity with more field strength enables more precise localisation of lymph node metastases in prostate cancer.

A special highlight was not only the presentation of the ELH Young Scientist Award, which went to Viktor Pfaffenrot this year, but also the keynote "High field to low field to even higher fields; lessons learned often the painful way" by Andrew Webb from the Universiteit Leiden in the Netherlands: Entertaining and informative, Webb led the audience through his professional adventures with different field strengths - from 56Tesla to 0.055Tesla.

The conclusion: low field strength does equal bad, it depends on the medical question. But as soon as detailed images of the human body are needed, UHF MRI is clearly ahead. When it comes to identifying tumours, for example, high-resolution images are practically indispensable, especially when it comes to extremely sensitive organs such as the eye.

In addition to around 70 participants on site, our live stream was also able to report over 150 individual accesses from all over the world.

The feedback for the programme and especially the entertaining keynote was positive throughout, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank all speakers, presenters, participants and the ELH team for a thoroughly successful event. We say see you next year!