An open-source approach downsizes today’s clunking behemoths with permanent magnets and...
Magnetic resonance imaging scanners are the most valuable diagnostic tool we have for assessing brain injuries and disorders.
Around two thirds of people worldwide do not have access to MRI technology, and more than 90 percent of the devices are located in high-income countries.
Expense is the big reason: a typical MRI machine costs around $1 million to $3 million.
In a December 14 study in Nature Communications, researchers from the University of Hong Kong, led by biomedical engineer Ed Wu, describe an MRI scanner that needs no shielding and draws power from a standard wall socket.
MRI exploits the fact that we are mostly made of water.
The team demonstrated the device by scanning 25 patients and comparing the images with those from a standard MRI machine.
"Rapid assessment of stroke, which has a large impact on success of interventions, could be facilitated by ULF MRI being located in more towns, or even mobile units."
The new design joins a growing list of other ULF MRI scanners being developed.
"Right now, MRI systems are built as if we don't know anything about what we're scanning, but often the information we need is very subtle," Wu says-namely, to identify what's different.
"That's going to be a huge revolution, driven by cheap computing." He envisions broader use of MRI technology, more closely matched to clinical needs at point of care.