New MRI devices: small, compact, mobile

While around 40 million MRI examinations are carried out in the European Union every year, they are not even possible in many countries outside the EU. The MRI devices are too expensive and too large.

Prof. Dr Benjamin Menküc and Nils Allek from the Department of Information Technology at Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences are developing cost-saving MRI devices that are smaller and therefore lighter and more mobile. Their work harks back to the origins of MRI, as Professor Menküc explains: „In the early 1980s, magnetic resonance imaging worked with low-strength magnetic fields, but these were then steadily increased in order to obtain more precise images of organs and tissue. Superconducting magnets are now used, which generate a strong field but also have to be cooled with liquid helium at great expense.

In the A4IM research project at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts, which will run until 2026, the scientists are using less powerful magnetic fields. „This is possible because the signal processing is now much better“, says Menküc. „The magnetic field no longer has to be 100 per cent homogeneous. We can technically compensate for smaller inhomogeneities.

With open-source hardware designs and open-source software, the A4IM (Affordable low-field MRI reference system) project is pursuing the EU goal of improving the availability, accessibility and affordability of medical devices. Nils Allek, research assistant in the A4IM project, worked on the low-field MRI prototype as part of his final thesis in the Digital Technologies degree programme. He adds: "The prototypes are significantly smaller than conventional MRI devices. For example, the head, arm or legs can be examined separately in the imaging procedure.

Instead of weighing several tonnes, the smaller devices weigh around 200 kg. They are easier to transport and, thanks to the lower costs, they can also be used in places where a large device would not pay off. Professor Menküc speaks of around 50,000 euros for a low-field MRI - normally an MRI scanner costs several million euros.

Source: medtech-zwo from 15/08/2023