Launched in 1984 by the late Dr. Willam Feindel with the support of the McConnell Family Foundation, the BIC is home to 29 world-class researchers, 30 highly qualified personnel and more than 300 trainees and research assistants. It is regarded as one of the top brain imaging research centres in the world. The BIC is based at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital). 

As members of Canada’s largest neuroimaging facility, BIC’s investigators can employ leading-edge equipment including a 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, the first-ever full-body 7T MRI scanner installed in Canada and a 7T preclinical MRI system. In addition, our researchers can use a human high-resolution positron emission tomograph (PET) and a preclinical micro-PET scanner, and will soon have access to the first commercially-available, Health Canada approved, ultra-high resolution (1.3 mm) PET camera in Canada; the latter molecular imaging facilities being supported by a radiochemistry unit capable of synthesizing and producing the world's largest repertoire of radiopharmaceuticals probes. BIC members also have access to a 275-channel CTF magnetoencephalography (MEG) scanner and to other instruments like electroencephalography, electrophysiology and optical imaging recording devices as well as transcranial magnetic stimulation equipment. 

A world-renowned neuroimaging and neuroinformatics centre 

BIC’s massive data collections are managed by a team of international leaders in neuroinformatics and open science, who are developing publicly-accessible software environments that are suitable for multimodal BIG data analysis, mining, and sharing with institutions around the world. 

In addition to neuroimaging and neuroinformatics services provided to BIC Faculty members and more than 90 external principal investigators, numerous clinical trials undertaken at The Neuro rely on the imaging capacity at the BIC, where more than 3800 scans are performed annually. 

BIC researchers continue to have notable success forming biomedical spin-off companies that translate data into valuable research and clinical use.