What Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging does

The Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging is a non-profit academic research facility and the Amsterdam imaging core for 3T and 7T MRI, located on the Amsterdam UMC campus. Founded in 2015 as a joint initiative of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and Amsterdam UMC, the centre provides scanning infrastructure access to more than 100 neuroscience professionals from these partner institutions and to external third-party research programs.

The centre's core technical capabilities center on ultra-high-field 7 Tesla MRI and advanced 3T imaging, with proprietary methods including the MP2RAGEME sequence (delivering T1, T2*, and Quantitative Susceptibility Maps in a single acquisition with a 35% reduction in scan time), population receptive field (pRF) mapping, laminar fMRI, arterial spin labeling, and 0.4mm-resolution cerebellar imaging with motion correction. In 2024 the centre's 7T scanner became the first clinically certified 7T MRI in the Netherlands, supporting clinical applications such as deep brain stimulation planning for Parkinson's disease and cerebellar imaging for multiple sclerosis. The centre also offers EEG services, methodological support, and a publicly accessible WIKI knowledge resource.

The centre operates on a grant-funded, non-commercial model with no publicly disclosed pricing. Revenue derives from individual NWO research grants (Veni, Vidi, Vici) awarded to affiliated principal investigators, European Regional Development Fund support, and institutional contributions from its four founding partners. Pricing for facility access is administered through business opportunity and partnership arrangements rather than a published commercial rate card, and customer concentration is structurally high within the four founding Amsterdam academic institutions, with clinical access now extending to Amsterdam UMC patient care.

Name

Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging

Legal name

Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging

Website

https://spinozacentre.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging is a non-profit Amsterdam research facility jointly operated by KNAW, the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, VU Amsterdam, and Amsterdam UMC. It provides 3T and 7T MRI scanning infrastructure, including the only clinically certified 7T MRI in the Netherlands, to academic and clinical neuroscience researchers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Neuroimaging Research Services

NAICS

Diagnostic Imaging Centers (621512)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Neurodiagnostic Centers (EEG/EMG/NCS) (HLAFAKAK)

Keywords

• Neuroimaging research services
• MRI scanning services
• Ultra-high field imaging
• Clinical neuroscience research
• EEG imaging services

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Research Facility Access: The Spinoza Centre provides scanning infrastructure access to third parties for their research programs, academic institutions, and clinical researchers. The facility is a core research facility funded by partner institutions including Amsterdam UMC, KNAW, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging is a non-profit academic research facility and knowledge hub that provides 3T and 7T MRI and EEG neuroimaging scanning services to academic and clinical researchers. It offers access to ultra-high-field imaging infrastructure, proprietary MRI sequences, methodological support, and training for basic, cognitive, and clinical neuroscience research programs conducted by partner institutions and external third parties.

Product overview

The Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging is a core research facility and knowledge hub operated by Amsterdam academic neuroscience institutions. It provides a unified portfolio of neuroimaging services centered on 3T and 7T MRI scanning capabilities, supplemented by EEG services. The facility offers access to its scanning infrastructure to researchers from partner institutions (Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience/KNAW) as well as third parties for their research programs. Services include structural imaging, functional MRI (fMRI), ultra-high-resolution cerebellar imaging, and various quantitative MRI techniques. The facility also provides methodological support, training, and access to a WIKI knowledge resource.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 3T MRI Scanning Services High-field 3 Tesla MRI neuroimaging service providing structural and functional brain imaging for academic and clinical researchers conducting neuroscience studies.
• 7T MRI Scanning Services Ultra-high-field 7 Tesla MRI neuroimaging service providing unprecedented spatial resolution for human brain imaging, including the only clinically certified 7T MRI scanner in the Netherlands. Used for cerebellar imaging, deep brain stimulation planning, and quantitative brain mapping.
• EEG Services Electroencephalography service for measuring electrical brain activity, offered as part of the neuroimaging resource portfolio alongside MRI scanning.
• Research Facility Access Access program providing external academic and industrial research programs with scanning infrastructure, methodological support, training, and WIKI knowledge resources to conduct neuroimaging research at the Spinoza Centre.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15x more detail in cerebellar imaging compared to conventional MRI
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Amsterdam UMCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor teaching hospital partnership providing clinical research collaboration and hosting the Spinoza Centre facilities. Amsterdam UMC is a leading medical center combining complex high-quality patient care, innovative scientific research, and education.
• Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe KNAW is the forum, voice and conscience of science in the Netherlands. Its institutes lead the way with research. The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience is part of KNAW.
• Netherlands Institute for NeurosciencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducts fundamental scientific research in neuroscience as an institute of KNAW. Hosts the Spinoza Centre and provides research collaboration opportunities.
• Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner providing research collaboration. Known for scientific and value-driven education, research and knowledge transfer. Home to department of Applied and Experimental Psychology.
• University of Amsterdam (UvA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner contributing researchers from the Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience for neuroimaging research collaborations.
• Utrecht UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research partner on numerosity studies with researchers like Ben Harvey contributing to joint publications.
• Erasmus MCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner for urological disorder research including 7T MRI studies on bladder function with Prof. Bertil Blok.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• UMC Utrecht (University Medical Center Utrecht): UMC Utrecht is a major Dutch academic medical center with 7T MRI research capabilities and existing research collaboration with Spinoza Centre. While it serves a broader clinical and research mandate, its 7T MRI operations and Dutch neuroscience research focus make it a relevant regional peer with overlapping capabilities.

Direct peers

• Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences: Located in Leipzig, Germany, this Max Planck Institute operates multiple ultra-high-field MRI scanners (including 7T systems) for cognitive and clinical neuroscience research. It shares Spinoza's focus on developing novel MRI methods, supporting a large user community of neuroscience researchers, and producing high-impact cognitive neuroscience research.
• Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour: Radboud University's Donders Institute in Nijmegen is a major Dutch neuroscience research center combining MRI facilities with cognitive and clinical neuroscience research. As a fellow Dutch institution with shared grant funding sources (NWO) and overlapping research focus on brain function, it is a direct peer in the same national ecosystem.
• NeuroSpin (CEA): NeuroSpin is the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission's neuroimaging center operating multiple ultra-high-field MRI scanners (including 7T and 11.7T systems) for brain research. Like Spinoza Centre, it is a national research core facility providing ultra-high-field MRI access to neuroscience researchers and developing novel imaging methods, making it a direct functional peer.
• Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging: Jointly operated by Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and MIT, the Martinos Center is one of the world's premier biomedical imaging research facilities operating multiple 7T and 3T MRI scanners for neuroscience research. It shares Spinoza's model of combining ultra-high-field MRI technology with novel sequence development and broad academic user access.
• Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital (The Neuro): McGill University's Montreal Neurological Institute is a leading Canadian neuroscience research and clinical center combining advanced brain imaging with neurological research. Its integration of MRI-based research with clinical neuroscience and strong publication output parallels Spinoza's model.
• Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging (UCL): University College London's Wellcome Centre is a leading neuroimaging research facility combining structural and functional MRI with cognitive neuroscience research. It operates as a core research facility providing access to advanced MRI infrastructure to UCL and external researchers, similar to Spinoza's model of serving as Amsterdam's neuroimaging core.
• Forschungszentrum Jülich (INM-1): Germany's Forschungszentrum Jülich operates the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1) with ultra-high-field MRI scanners including 9.4T systems for brain research. As a national research center focused on developing novel MRI methods and serving a broad neuroscience user community, it is a direct functional peer to Spinoza Centre.
• Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC): CUBRIC is a major UK neuroimaging research facility operating ultra-high-field MRI scanners for brain research, including 7T systems. Like Spinoza, it provides scanning infrastructure access to academic and clinical researchers, develops novel imaging methods, and serves as a hub for cognitive and clinical neuroscience research.
• University of Minnesota Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR): CMRR is a leading US research facility pioneering ultra-high-field MRI technology including 7T and 10.5T systems. It shares Spinoza's mission of developing novel MRI methods (including quantitative susceptibility mapping and high-resolution structural imaging) and providing access to advanced imaging infrastructure for neuroscience research.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SpinozaCentre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/spinoza-centre-for-neuroimaging

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging