Novel Portable MRI at Bedside Feasible for Stoke Detection

Using a portable, low-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device to assess patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) for brain injury works equally as traditional imaging measures, reveals a new study. The findings of the study are published in the journal JAMA Neurology.

It is well established in acute neurological settings that non-invasive, time-sensitive neuroimaging is the cornerstone of triage and treatment pathways.

‘Breakthrough portable bedside MRI for neuroimaging in ICU settings can safely detect patients with brain injury. ’

Magnetic resonance imaging is unparalleled as an imaging technology for identifying disease or injury to the brain and central nervous system, but conventional MRI units are immobile behemoths containing large, heavy magnets made of a superconducting element that needs super-cooling with liquid nitrogen or helium.

Traditional MRI that requires patient transport could endanger patient safety due to the magnetic fields and potentially compromise monitoring equipment, endanger venous access, and risk endotracheal tube displacement. A portable, bedside system reduces those challenges, reports the research team.

Rosen, director of the Low Field MRI and Hyperpolarized Media Lab and co-Director of the Center for Machine Learning at the Athinoula says, "This is an enabling approach to bring non-invasive neuroimaging with the soft-tissue contrast and all of those things neurologists have been relying on for years to environments where it would not be possible otherwise."

The novel device may hold promise for portable neurological injury assessment in other scenarios, including the emergency department, mobile stroke units, and resource-limited environments.

Source: Medindia