Massachusetts General Hospital is an example of American scientific ingenuity at its best.

Widely considered one of the most outstanding hospitals in the US, it is famous for its pioneering studies, exceptional laboratories and top medical specialists. MGH, as it is known, conducts the largest hospital-based research programme in the country, with an annual budget of more than $500m. The National Institutes of Health routinely awards it the most research funding of any independent hospital in the country.

In future, the bulk of discoveries and advancements at MGH will probably come from the hospital's newest crown jewel - the Simches Research Center, a state-of-the-art medical research facility. The Center is home to several "thematic" programmes comprised of multidisciplinary research teams focused on developing creative approaches to biomedical problems.

That the Center brings together biological scientists, engineers, and clinicians, "fosters an entrepreneurial environment and expands the boundaries of medical research," according to Dr Richard Bringhurst, senior vice-president of medicine and research management at MGH.

"It's the future of big science," he said. "We take a team-based approach to science, as we've found that it's the most productive way to get something done. It's not unique to MGH, but it's crucial to our success."

The Center, housed in a former movie theater and retail mall, can accommodate 1,500 researchers. The labs do not have walls - a design feature to encourage collaboration. "Scientists are very focused, they don't always look from left to right, but by getting groups with different expertise together they look at problems in new ways," said Michael Fisher, director of research space management at the hospital.

Another of MGH's thematic research centres is the Wellman Center for Photomedicine, which does light-based biomedical research. Historically, light was only used to diagnose and treat skin and eye problems, but now it is used to treat cancer, heart disease, and birth defects.

"We identify problems worth solving, and invent the technology to target them," said Dr Rox Anderson, its director. "We look at diseases that are common, nasty and unsolved. We don't care which organ it's in."

The Center, which has about 200 patents, has successfully transferred its research to clinical applications. For instance, it recently created light-activated drugs to treat age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the US. It also invented "lithotripsy" - laser pulses delivered through a fiber optic to remove kidney stones from the urinary tract.One of the most well established hubs of medical innovation within the hospital is the MGH Cancer Center. Researchers there recently developed a microchip-based device that can isolate, enumerate, and analyse circulating tumor cells from a blood sample - a new technology that has the power to change how doctors manage cancer care.

In addition, the Burr Proton Therapy Center is at the forefront of technological advancement in radiation therapy of cancer treatment. The Center accelerates protons, or charged particles, with a large magnetic field in a machine called a cyclotron. Large magnets help guide the proton beam to treatment rooms.

The Center houses two 110-tonne, three-story high gantries. These gantries are rotated to aim the proton beam from various directions. In the gantry rooms patients lie on robotic beds that can be adjusted for precise alignment of targets contained throughout the body.

These are used to treat very complex cancer cases, as well as pediatric cancers, according to Hanne Kooy, associate director of the Center and radiation oncology. "This type of therapy can change the equation for cancer patients," he said.

Mr Fisher said that the presence of these centres has also helped MGH, which is affiliated with Harvard Medical School, recruit some of the top scientific minds. "They want to get here to be close to Harvard and MIT," he said. "We're able to attract top talent from all over the country, all over the world, because of the concentration of research here."