A brand new portable MRI device has marked success as it was able to identify the abnormalities in the brain. This tiny device was reportedly being used at neurosciences ICU at Yale-New Haven Hospital on patients suffering from stroke and various other neurological complications. Reportedly, this device helped to diagnose 29/30 patients.
The complete study findings are published in the journal JAMA Neurology.
This study is one of its kind which has successfully deploy any digital device including the MRI machine which immediately helps doctors to diagnose a malfunctioning part of the brain, without waiting.
The imaging of the brain is an essential part of acute neurological conditions and one of the key determinants to diagnose a condition.
Kevin Sheth teaches Neurology at Yale who is also the first author of this study. This new portable MRI device is significantly helpful to identify the problems with stroke hemorrhagic, brain injuries, brain tumors, and subarachnoid hemorrhage patients admitted to the Yale-New Haven Hospital.
This team also checked the new portable MRI machine to check 20 patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 signs. Most of them were terribly sick that they couldn’t move to get an MRI or to identify any neurological condition. However, using this machine helped to diagnose eight patients with extreme neurological abnormalities.
This new portable machine is a collaborative effort between researchers at Yale and a medical device manufacturing company named Hyperfine. This company based in Guliford and was initiated by the alumni of Yale University, mainly Jonathan Rothberg, a doctoral student from 1991. This company helps to design the rapid diagnostic machines to aid severely ill patients who need an accurate diagnosis for proper treatment.
Using such portable machines will be a true help for doctors especially from low-income countries where moving patients to a bigger health facility takes time and effort often resulting in the death of the patient. Most of these severe conditions where one blood clot is disturbing the blood supply to the brain are too critical to handle. And everything including this rapid diagnosis can make the treatment efficient.
Also read- Obesity is Increasing Worldwide and is Posing Severe Health Risks
Coming to the second point, the price of these portable machines is also something that adds a point to their significance. The price of this new portable MRI machine will be much lower than the standard, highly expensive MRI machines. Although both these machines help the same way conventional MRI machines use powerful magnets that can only be set up inside huge spaces or rooms.
The problem with such highly powerful magnets is that they can not be used or installed in small rooms. So, the conventional machinery requires a full-fledged MRI room or diagnostic center where the patient has to carry or transport. On the other side, the portable devices use small magnets that are weak hence can be used anywhere irrespective of the room size.
For this new portable MRI machine, the Hyperfine company has finally received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to use the prototype MRI machine in the country. The request for an advanced version of this machine is also requested by the company.
