PhysicsWorld – A new type of low-resolution MRI scanner, that does not require dedicated protection, can effectively diagnose stroke and detect blood clots in the brain as small as 4 mm in size. In a study of 50 patients with ischemic stroke treated at Yale New Haven Hospital, intracranial imaging with pMRI detected ischemic infarcts in 90% of patients. The prospective study is the first to show that a portable MRI system of 0.064 T Swoop can be used to directly diagnose and diagnose a stroke near a patient’s bedside.
The ability to quickly differentiate ischemic stroke, where inhibition interrupts blood supply to the brain, from the hemorrhagic side, and where there is bleeding in the brain, is essential to accelerate effective treatment. Ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke, is usually treated with thrombolytic “clot busting” treatment. This method, however, is not suitable for hemorrhagic stroke.
The European Society for Cardiology and the American Heart Association recommend that all patients with a stroke receive a brain scan as soon as they arrive at the hospital to avoid bleeding inside the cranial. CT is the preferred imaging modality to diagnose stroke, in which radiation MRI is becoming increasingly popular; but access to stationary MRI scans can be limited.
Low-level PMRI scans can prove an effective point-of-care diagnosis. The Swoop pMRI scanner, which includes an eight-channel radiofrequency head coil, operates from a common electrical outlet, requires no cryogenics and incorporates electromagnetic interference, eliminating the need for a secure chamber.
Its compact size (140 cm high and 86 cm wide) allows for use in inpatients or emergency department settings, and does not require specialized MRI specialists to operate. Importantly, pMRI is unaffected and does not endanger the operation of nearby hospital equipment.
A portable, bedside MRI scanner solution opens the doors to rethinking how to deliver quality care, reachs patients and communities around the world, and better understands the basics of emotional and physical damage.
In the study, researchers used low-field pMRI to make bedside intracranial images in 50 patients with ischemic stroke. The pMRI scan was performed an average of 37 ± 60 hours after the normal known end of the patient period (unknown to five patients). Six patients received pMRI from the emergency department, 40 in the intensive care unit (ICU) and four in the ICVID-19 ICU.
The team received a total of 50 T2-weighted, 51 fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) and 56 diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) images, with an estimated testing time of about 25 min. Each 50 patients had an ischemic infarct obtained by standard neuroimaging care – advanced MRI or contrast CT – within 36 hours of pMRI examination.
Sheth and colleagues examined and compared pMRI for each subcutaneous field with a standard MRI or CT scan obtained close to the time of pMRI examination. PMRI was considered a positive ischemic infarct (which emerged as a hyperintense region) if at least one sequence showed the same infarct as seen in standard tests.
PMRI detected infarcts in 45 patients in all cortical, subcortical and cerebellar structures. The researchers reported that stroke volume ratings were consistent between pMRI structure sequences and pMRI ratings were consistent with standard MRI measurements. They also noted that pMRI stroke volumes are strongly associated with the severity of stroke during the examination and the effective effect on patient discharge.
