Seven Tesla MRI: Unlocking Clarity, Defeating Epilepsy!

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have created a novel method that improves 7T MRI scans, enabling medical professionals to identify brain abnormalities that causes drug-resistant epilepsy. Patients at Cambridge's Addenbrooke's Hospital had life-altering procedures as a result of this discovery (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Parallel transmit improves 7T MRI adult epilepsy pre-surgical evaluation

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Imaging Difficulties with Three Tesla Scanners

The currently popular 3T MRI scanner is not always ideal for finding mild or minor brain lesions in individuals with epilepsy; as a result, important anomalies go unnoticed by these scanners. This particularly happens in the temporal lobes, where signal dropouts produce blackspots that mask the important information. Thus, many patients with drug-resistant epilepsy might not be properly diagnosed!

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Breakthrough in MRI Technology for Epilepsy

"Parallel Transmit," a technique that removes signal blackspots in the brain, has been incorporated by researchers at the University of Cambridge for enhancing 7T MRI imaging. This enables the medical professionals to view previously hidden abnormalities, especially in the temporal lobes, which are the most frequent site of epilepsy. Surgery will be a more practical therapy option if clearer imaging helps in identifying the precise locations producing seizures.

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Life-Changing Impact on Patients

By using this novel 7T MRI method, medical professionals were able to confirm or rule out epileptic lesions in nine of 31 patients. The imaging helped to uncover unidentified problematic regions in almost nine patients and changed the course of treatment for 18 individuals, ten of whom were able to receive surgery to terminate their seizures.

This breakthrough in imaging has meant that doctors can provide a more focused therapy, making it more likely for a seizure-free life for many epileptic patients
Sharper scans for smarter epilepsy care!
Reference:

1. Parallel transmit improves 7T MRI adult epilepsy pre-surgical evaluation - (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/385474784_Parallel_transmit_improves_7T_MRI_adult_epilepsy_pre-surgical_evaluation)

Source-University of Cambridge