Researchers develop low-cost, portable head-only MRI scanner

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.November 24, 2020

When it comes to brain scans to evaluate head trauma, detect brain cancer, and perform numerous other tests, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the best option, but MRI scanners are expensive, require special infrastructure, and are immobile . Now a team led by investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has developed a low-cost, compact, portable, low-power “head-only” MRI scanner that can be mounted in an ambulance, transported into a patient’s room, or inserted into a small clinics or doctors’ offices around the world. The advance is described in a study published in Nature Biomedical Engineering.

Although MRI is the primary imaging modality for brain imaging, the purchase and installation of traditional high-field MRI scanners can be prohibitively expensive and difficult. Even in a hospital where MRI scanners are available, there are instances where it can be too difficult or dangerous to transport the patient into scanner suites. The work in this article was really motivated by this need for a more accessible MRI. “

Clarissa Zimmerman Cooley, Ph.D., lead author, researcher in radiology at the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, MGH

Cooley and his colleagues designed and tested a prototype portable brain MRI scanner that plugs into a standard outlet and emits far less noise than traditional MRI scanners. The magnet itself is about the size of a laundry basket and the total weight of the complete scanner system (including magnet, reels, amplifiers, console and cart) is 230kg, or approximately 500lbs, and the cart can be pushed by one person only for transport. If standard equipment components are replaced with custom efficient lightweight designs, the total weight could be reduced to 160kg, or around 350lbs.

When tested on three healthy adult volunteers, the scanner generated 3D brain images, typically within 10 minutes.

“This type of technology could really extend the reach of MRI,” Cooley says. “With some further development, this could enable a true point of care, bedside brain imaging for patients or scanning in remote locations where MRI has traditionally been unavailable.”