A miniscule area in the brain, known as the locus coeruleus (LC), or blue spot, can help to identify an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease at a very early stage. The LC is hidden deep in the brainstem and can only be detected with advanced MRI equipment. Heidi Jacobs (Maastricht University/Harvard Medical School) used MRI scans to show that the tau protein can begin to spread in the LC three…
New research indicates that MRIs are cost effective for detecting breast cancer for women with very dense breasts detected by mammography. About 10% of women have extremely dense breasts, and current mammography screening guidelines do not recommend additional imaging tests unless there is a strong family history or genetic risk for breast cancer. Such women face two problems. They have increased…
Machine learning methods are being used to predict the health of the placenta from a 30-second MRI scan. Researchers hope the approach will offer an insight into the health of expectant mothers and unborn babies by detecting the early signs of dangerous conditions such as pre-eclampsia. Researchers from the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences at King’s College London (KCL)…
A multidisciplinary team of scientists based at the Universidad de Valladolid and the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) has developed a highly efficient method for identifying the 3-dimensional features of the scar tissue formed after a myocardial infarction. The study was carried out in partnership with scientists and clinicians at Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Hospital…
When patients undergo an MRI, they are told to lie still because even the slightest movement compromises the quality of the images and can create blurred spots and speckles known as artifacts. Moreover, a long acquisition time is usually required to provide high-quality MRI images. A team of researchers from Washington University in St. Louis has found a new deep learning method that can minimize…
Claustrophobia or anxiety can overwhelm small children and people with cognitive difficulties, especially in a confining and noisy MRI scanner tube. Their restless reactions can then render scan images useless. To help such patients to relax during scanning, a team from King’s College London (KCL) has designed an immersive environment with a special virtual reality (VR) headset for use with MRI…
Siemens Healthineers has recently started offering its customers WeScan, a new service that helps healthcare providers to perform MRI examinations if they lack qualified radiology staff. With the WeScan service, customers may seek access to a pool of skilled remote imaging technologists who help operate the MRI scanner using syngo Virtual Cockpit, the remote scanning software of Siemens…
"You hear the noises, but they don't bother you at all": Since 2019, the “Pengunaut Trainer" has been preparing children for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations through role play. The app was developed under the leadership of the University Duisburg-Essen (UDE) and the Essen University Hospital (UK Essen).
Medical data management company Flywheel announced a partnership and enterprise license agreement with Siemens Healthineers. Under the agreement, Flywheel will deliver a cloud-based research collaboration solution on the Siemens Healthineers teamplay digital health platform. Rolling out first in North America, the teamplay collaboration solution will enable Siemens Healthineers and its many…
At a virtual European event, Fujifilm Healthcare Europe presented a complete and integrated portfolio of diagnostic products and services, including CT, MRI, X-ray, AI, PACS, endoscopy and ultrasound systems. This launch follows the completion of Fujifilm's acquisition and takeover of Hitachi's Diagnostic Imaging-related business on 31 March 2021 for 179 billion yen (€1.3 billion).
Researchers report that they have developed a method to combine three brain-imaging techniques to more precisely capture the timing and location of brain responses to a stimulus. Their study is the first to combine the three widely used technologies for simultaneous imaging of brain activity. The work is reported in the journal Human Brain Mapping. The new "trimodal" approach combines…
A cutting-edge imaging technique that creates 4D flow images of the heart has been carried out for the first time in the UK at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH).
Currently, two opposing trends can be observed in MRI: on the one hand 1.5T scanners are increasingly replaced by 3T scanners for standard clinical MRI applications. On the other hand scanners with lower and even significantly lower field strength have commercially available in the past two years. A session at this year’s European Congress of Radiology (ECR 2021) took a closer look at low-field…
Low-field MRI is the flavour of the season after several 1.5T models were launched. The major advantages of this technology are a relatively low purchasing price and operating costs and few artefacts while the image quality is comparable to a 1.5T scanner. Patient comfort is another benefit of low-field scanners. This advantage, however, tends to get short shrift despite the fact that it might…
A new study from the University of Surrey and University College London has revealed that treatment for heart attacks could be improved thanks to a novel method of evaluating heart function using contrast-based MRI scans. According to the British Heart Foundation, heart and circulatory diseases cause more than a quarter (27 per cent) of all deaths in the UK, which equates to more than 160,000…
An artificial intelligence (AI)-driven system that automatically combs through brain MRIs for abnormalities could speed care to those who need it most, according to a new study. “There are an increasing number of MRIs that are performed, not only in the hospital but also for outpatients, so there is a real need to improve radiology workflow,” said study co-lead author Romane Gauriau, PhD,…
Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) want to build the world’s first prototype that tracks moving tumors with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in real time during proton therapy. They are combining a rotating open MRI device, designed for the LINAC-MR system from Alberta Health Services, with an actively scanned clinical-akin proton beam at OncoRay, the Dresden-based…
In an industry where every second and every click counts, workflow inefficiencies consume as much as a third of the MRI procedure time. This is a key area of focus where technology advances can radically change what is possible with an MRI exam. Given declining reimbursements, fewer skilled resources, and the system-wide burden of chronic diseases, maximizing productivity is a strategic…
MRI scanning can more precisely define and detect head, neck, thoracic, abdominal and spinal malformations in unborn babies, finds a large multidisciplinary study led by King’s College London with Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital and University College London (UCL). In the study, published in Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, the team of researchers and…
Hyperpolarized MRI is a recent development and its research and application potential has yet to be fully explored. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Helmholtz Institute Mainz (HIM) have now unveiled a new technique for observing metabolic processes in the body. Their singlet-contrast MRI method employs easily-produced parahydrogen to track biochemical processes in…
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely used to identify the narrowing or blockage of blood vessels. Contrast agents improve the visibility of the structures and offer more accurate information of vascular conditions such as vascular blockage and stenosis. Commonly used gadolinium-based contrast agents must be administered in chelated forms due to the gadolinium ions' high toxicity and pose…
Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) can detect prostate cancer and inform about treatment response and disease progression earlier and better than other imaging modalities. A Belgian expert will delve into the latest and future developments of the technique for prostate cancer and distant metastases imaging in a dedicated session at ECR. WB‐MRI and nuclear medicine -…
Hitachi Medical Systems Europe (HMSE) announces the release of "Aperto Lucent Plus", 0.4 Tesla permanent Open MRI and "Airis Vento Plus", 0.3 Tesla permanent Open MRI system, both equipped with "SynergyDrive", at the ECR 2021 pop-up world tour. Since the launch of "Airis", the first permanent MRI system back in 1996, Hitachi has been highly recognized for…
Improving workflow is one of the major challenges that radiology departments face. The need to be more efficient, deliver timely and effective patient care, and keep an eye on costs are all factors that seem to be ever-present in the modern imaging department. With the added demands of the coronavirus pandemic as radiology departments continue to play a critical role in the fight against…
Anyone needing a tomography gets the clearest possible images of an organ or other body structure slice by slice. But the further inside the potential problem lies, the more difficult it is to obtain high-resolution images in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). An international team of scientists led by the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) has developed a high-frequency coil that allows for much…