Novel Portable MRI System Detects Strokes Accurately

Jul, 2022 - By SMI

Scientists found first ever portable MRI machine that accurately detects ischemic strokes and is cleared to be used by the U.S. FDA

Brain imaging is an important part of the clinical management of patients with ischemic stroke. However, accessible and timely available neuroimaging can be restricted in clinical stroke pathways. Now scientists at Yale School of Medicine and Harvard University discovered first ever portable MRI system that accurately detects ischemic strokes in patients. The new MRI machine was granted clearance by the U.S. Food and Development (FDA) in 2020. The scientists continue to demonstrate the efficiency of this MRI device.

In 2019, a health tech company, Hyperfine launched its portable MRI machine named Swoop, which was optimized using deep learning technology for enhancing its imagery. The device is approved by the FDA, however, the researchers are still finding ways to use it in real-world applications. In this new study, the researchers tried to find how accurately the portable MRI machine identifies ischemic strokes, which are the most common type of stroke. An ischemic stroke strikes when blood flow in the brain is blocked by a clot. There is another type of stroke called hemorrhagic, which occurs due to bleeding in the brain. The team investigated 50 patients from the Yale New Haven Hospital and tested the portable machine in different intensive care scenarios and emergency room.

The team of scientists found that the machine detected blood clots of 4 mm diameter. These finding confirmed that these novel portable MRI machines can be used clinically. The device couldn’t match the detail or accuracy of a conventional MRI, however, according to the scientists, with this new device MRI scans can become more accessible for more patients, where scanning patients at their bedside becomes possible and the clinician requires minimal skills to run this machine.