Neurosurgeons at Johns Hopkins receive instant feedback as they operate. The technology that allows this to happen is a new high-end intraoperative MRI scanner. Neurosurgeon Jon Weingart describes its capabilities this way: "We can now see if we've missed a sliver of tumor and go back and clean it up before the patient even leaves the operating table."

The scanner also gives neurosurgeons constant, real-time updates as they operate, allowing them to compensate for small shifts the brain may make. "It means we can do our jobs with more precision, more completely and in a way that is much safer for our patients," Weingart says. Installed in August 2002, the new $1.1 million machine gives Hopkins capabilities available at only a handful of institutions in the United States.