Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PR scanner (Exploitation of a low-field scanner for physiotherapy and rheumatology)
Reporting period: 2021-04-01 to 2022-09-30
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is an essential tool for the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal conditions.
There are two established trends in extremity MRI: i) employing full-blown whole-body systems, which deliver strong magnetic fields (> 1.5 T) and thereby the highest quality images, although they are highly expensive and often an overkill; and ii) smaller, medium-field, dedicated scanners for hands, elbows, knees, shoulders or ankles. The latter yield images with lower quality but constitute the only viable option for modest-sized clinics such as physiotherapy and rheumatology centers, or even sports clubs, due to their reduced manufacturing, siting, and maintenance costs. Typical magnetic field strengths in this case range from 0.2 to 0.5 T, reaching some compromise between image quality, scanner size, and price.
In this project, we propose a new generation of extremity MRI scanners which operate at even lower fields, are light, and exploit efficient spatial encoding schemes and image reconstruction techniques to boost the diagnostic value of the resulting images, thereby shifting the paradigm from extremely sophisticated and expensive hardware to extremely efficient methods.
We have already demonstrated the viability of a portable, very low weight (< 100 kg) MRI scanner, which can be sited at the point of care and is affordable by small clinics or even humble sports clubs (< 20 k€). This is our first-generation Physiotherapy/Rheumatology (PR) scanner (see figure), which we have successfully used for producing knee images featuring bone, tendon and soft tissue contrast, with spatial resolution of around 2 mm in a total acquisition time of twelve minutes. Making use of new encoding and reconstruction methods developed and/or licensed exclusively to the consortium, the quality of these images will be greatly enhanced as part of this project, making this system highly efficient in terms of quality-price ratio. This represents an enormous commercial opportunity which PhysMRI (project coordinator) plans to exploit and which defines the goals of this project.
There are two established trends in extremity MRI: i) employing full-blown whole-body systems, which deliver strong magnetic fields (> 1.5 T) and thereby the highest quality images, although they are highly expensive and often an overkill; and ii) smaller, medium-field, dedicated scanners for hands, elbows, knees, shoulders or ankles. The latter yield images with lower quality but constitute the only viable option for modest-sized clinics such as physiotherapy and rheumatology centers, or even sports clubs, due to their reduced manufacturing, siting, and maintenance costs. Typical magnetic field strengths in this case range from 0.2 to 0.5 T, reaching some compromise between image quality, scanner size, and price.
In this project, we propose a new generation of extremity MRI scanners which operate at even lower fields, are light, and exploit efficient spatial encoding schemes and image reconstruction techniques to boost the diagnostic value of the resulting images, thereby shifting the paradigm from extremely sophisticated and expensive hardware to extremely efficient methods.
We have already demonstrated the viability of a portable, very low weight (< 100 kg) MRI scanner, which can be sited at the point of care and is affordable by small clinics or even humble sports clubs (< 20 k€). This is our first-generation Physiotherapy/Rheumatology (PR) scanner (see figure), which we have successfully used for producing knee images featuring bone, tendon and soft tissue contrast, with spatial resolution of around 2 mm in a total acquisition time of twelve minutes. Making use of new encoding and reconstruction methods developed and/or licensed exclusively to the consortium, the quality of these images will be greatly enhanced as part of this project, making this system highly efficient in terms of quality-price ratio. This represents an enormous commercial opportunity which PhysMRI (project coordinator) plans to exploit and which defines the goals of this project.
In this project we have developed and tested a low-cost MRI scanner for extremity imaging. The system is light (~150 kg), easily transportable and installable. We initially tested the scanner in the laboratory with a certified phantom and in-vivo. Then we mounted the scanner on a small cart. This was a big qualitative change, making the Gen I system fully portable. We evaluated the portability under different environments and conditions including in an MRI Physics lab, in an office room, outdoors plugged through a 30 m cable, outdoors in open air powered by a portable electricity generator, and in a patient’s living room. Finally, we also started the first systematic study with the system on more than 30 healthy volunteers to measure the calf.
We have demonstrated the viability of Gen I system, a portable and low-cost system for magnetic resonance imaging under different conditions. This pushes the traditional borders of MRI, enabling its use in large hospitals or small healthcare centers, the point-of-care or for bedside imaging. We have obtained the first MRI images at the patient’s house, and the system can be used in remote or developing regions, sport facilities and events, medical and military camps or home healthcare.