Massachusetts General Hospital researchers have developed a new portable, low-cost modality for imaging brain injuries.
The Boston team detailed its low-power, “head only” MRI scanner Monday in Nature Biomedical Engineering. Tested on a handful of healthy participants, the scanner produced three-dimensional brain images within 10 minutes, on average.
"Although MRI is the premier imaging modality for brain imaging, the purchase and installation of traditional high-field MRI scanners can be prohibitively expensive and difficult," lead author Clarissa Zimmerman Cooley, PhD, an investigator in radiology at MGH's Center for Biomedical Imaging, said in a statement. "The work in this paper was really motivated by this need for more accessible MRI."
Cooley et al. noted their machine can be mounted in an ambulance, pushed into a patient’s room or delivered to small clinics around the globe.
The prototype plugs into a standard wall outlet and utilizes a magnet similar in size to a laundry basket, according to the study. Currently weighing in at about 500 pounds, the team said it may be able to shed some of that bulk and bring it down to nearly 350 pounds.
"This type of technology could really extend the reach of MRI," Cooley explained. "With some further development, this could allow truly point-of-care, bedside brain imaging for patients or scanning in remote locations, where MRI has traditionally been unavailable."
Imaging disruptors on the rise
More and more startup companies are trying, and in some cases succeeding, in upending the medical imaging market.
For example, Connecticut-based Hyperfine is the first firm to receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance for its portable MRI machine. It recently launched a $1.6 million endeavor to test its bedside system’s ability to diagnose infant brain damage in low-resource settings.
Similarly, Israeli company Nanox has drawn headlines for its novel scanner that seeks to deliver imaging at a fraction of the cost and footprint of traditional modalities. This past October it signed a deal with Ambra Health enabling image exchange and access capabilities for its Nanox.ARC system. The firm has also faced criticism alleging it has misled investors.
Nanox has said it plans to demonstrate its technology during next month’s RSNA meeting.
Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.