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MRI-Guided Radiation Therapy Reduces Long-Term Side Effects for Patients with Prostate Cancer

After a comprehensive two-year follow-up, researchers at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found that MRI-guided stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for prostate cancer significantly reduced long-term side effects and improved quality of life, particularly in bowel and sexual health, compared to conventional CT-guided treatment.




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Did Kartik Aaryan ignore Tripti Dimri at Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 success bash; netizens think so [Watch]

Speaking about the box-office clash, Bhushan Kumar said, "I am extremely happy for the love our film 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3' is receiving from the audience. It's been only a few days since the film hit the theatres and it has already done great business...Ya, I do feel the clash between (Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Singham Again)"




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ProScan Imaging of Louisville, Freestanding MRI Center, Announces Discounted Self-Pay Pricing for Services

As of March 1, 2023, ProScan Louisville at 4044 Dutchmans Ln, St Matthews, KY 40207 has introduced new self-pay pricing for MRIs without contrast, MRIs with contrast, and MRIs with and without contrast. Imaging fees are permanently implemented, discounted by $100 each with an additional 10% off for patients that pay in full when services are rendered.




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fMRI data trove yields new insights into consciousness and abstract thought

Using 20 years of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from tens of thousands of brain imaging experiments, neuroscientists at the University of Massachusetts have created a geometry-based method for massive data analysis to reach a new understanding of how thought arises from brain structure...




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Taste a slice of Amritsar in Chennai




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Symrise: Health Actives

The company has filed a patent application for the aronia extract, which has a unique polyphenols profile in addition to strong multiple cellular antioxidant effects. This range expands the diana food™ portfolio of health actives, which forms a part of the Taste, Nutrition & Health segment.




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Symrise Diana Food: Natural Support

Symrise Diana Food, the leader in natural health solutions, introduces a clinical study demonstrating the efficacy of whole fruit cranberry extract high in proanthocyanidins as a natural support for urinary health. 




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Symrise launches chickpea, aquafaba ingredients with benefits for plant-based applications

The ingredients open opportunities in the development of plant-based food products with cleaner labels.




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Symrise debuts range of aronia health actives with high cellular antioxidant effects

Symrise continues to develop its health expertise with the launch of a new range of aronia health actives.




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Symrise debuts range of natural blueberry ingredients for food applications

Comprehensive range from three berry species offering various organoleptic properties, actives compounds, and health benefits.




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Worker Not Entitled to Expand Claim, Receive Additional MRI

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a worker’s request to expand his claim and for authorization for a magnetic resonance imaging scan. Case: Hill v. Lowe's Home…




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Court Awards Worker Benefits for Back Injury, Authorizes MRI

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a finding that a worker was entitled to benefits for a back injury, and that he was entitled to a magnetic resonance imaging…




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What Is the Ideal Timeline to Do MRIs, fMRIs, DTIs, and Fiber Tracking to Diagnose TBI?

More than imaging, diagnosis of TBI is still based on the initial symptoms at the time of the injury.




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Resistive switching : from fundamentals of nanoionic redox processes to memristive device applications

Location: Engineering Library- TK7874.84.R47 2016




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Nats second baseman Danny Espinosa undergoes MRIs

Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa underwent MRIs on both his left shoulder and his right wrist on Wednesday.




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stormrider

But in this process, we must remember something important: life is not meant to be rushed through. It is not a race, nor is it a problem to be solved. It is an experience to be lived, and living well requires presence. To focus on one thing deeply, to give it your full attention, is to experience it fully. And when we do this, something remarkable happens. Time, which so often feels like it is slipping through our fingers, begins to slow. Moments become rich, textured. Even the simplest of tasks takes on a new significance when approached with care, with attention.




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BHCS MRI Machine Now Fully Operational

Bermuda HealthCare Services [BHCS] announced that their MRI machine is “now fully operational following recent recovery efforts after Hurricane Ernesto’s impact.” A spokesperson said, “With essential services restored, BHCS is ready to accept clients for MRI procedures.” Dr. Ewart Brown, Chairman of BHCS, remarked, “We are delighted to inform the community that our MRI services […]




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Impact of 18F-FDG PET/MRI on Therapeutic Management of Women with Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer: Results from a Prospective Double-Center Trial

Visual Abstract




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Clinical, Pathologic, and Imaging Variables Associated with Prostate Cancer Detection by PSMA PET/CT and Multiparametric MRI

Visual Abstract




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Rammya Mathew: GPs have to be able to request MRI scans for patients in primary care

At a recent clinical meeting, I heard that GPs local to me are about to lose the ability to request magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans for patients presenting with musculoskeletal symptoms. We’re instead advised to refer our patients to a musculoskeletal clinical assessment and triage service (CATS)—staffed largely by musculoskeletal advanced practitioners, who will assess our patients and determine whether imaging is warranted.The hope is that fewer patients will have unnecessary imaging and that this will reduce the potential harms of overdiagnosis. Radiologists rarely report musculoskeletal MRI scans as entirely normal, and it can be hard to know what to do with abnormal findings on an MRI. More often than not, patients with abnormal scans are referred to orthopaedic teams, even though there may not necessarily be a surgical target.At a population level, this is problematic on two fronts. Firstly, MRI scans are expensive and need to be used judiciously....




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Predicting Pathologic Complete Response in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer with [68Ga]Ga-FAPI-04 PET, [18F]FDG PET, and Contrast-Enhanced MRI: Lesion-to-Lesion Comparison with Pathology

Neoadjuvant therapy in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) has achieved good pathologic complete response (pCR) rates, potentially eliminating the need for surgical intervention. This study investigated preoperative methods for predicting pCR after neoadjuvant short-course radiotherapy (SCRT) combined with immunochemotherapy. Methods: Treatment-naïve patients with histologically confirmed LARC were enrolled from February 2023 to July 2023. Before surgery, the patients received neoadjuvant SCRT followed by 2 cycles of capecitabine and oxaliplatin plus camrelizumab. 68Ga-labeled fibroblast activation protein inhibitor ([68Ga]Ga-FAPI-04) PET/MRI, [18F]FDG PET/CT, and contrast-enhanced MRI were performed before treatment initiation and before surgery in each patient. PET and MRI features and the size and number of lesions were also collected from each scan. Each parameter’s sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic cutoff were derived via receiver-operating-characteristic curve analysis. Results: Twenty eligible patients (13 men, 7 women; mean age, 60.2 y) were enrolled and completed the entire trial, and all patients had proficient mismatch repair or microsatellite-stable LARC. A postoperative pCR was achieved in 9 patients (45.0%). In the visual evaluation, both [68Ga]Ga-FAPI-04 PET/MRI and [18F]FDG PET/CT were limited to forecasting pCR. Contrast-enhanced MRI had a low sensitivity of 55.56% to predict pCR. In the quantitative evaluation, [68Ga]Ga-FAPI-04 change in SULpeak percentage, where SULpeak is SUVpeak standardized by lean body mass, had the largest area under the curve (0.929) with high specificity (sensitivity, 77.78%; specificity, 100.0%; cutoff, 63.92%). Conclusion: [68Ga]Ga-FAPI-04 PET/MRI is a promising imaging modality for predicting pCR after SCRT combined with immunochemotherapy. The SULpeak decrease exceeding 63.92% may provide valuable guidance in selecting patients who can forgo surgery after neoadjuvant therapy.




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Diagnostic Accuracy of [18F]FDG PET/MRI in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Metaanalysis

This study evaluates the diagnostic utility of PET/MRI for primary, locoregional, and nodal head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) through systematic review and metaanalysis. Methods: A systematic search was conducted using PubMed and Scopus to identify studies on the diagnostic accuracy of PET/MRI for HNSCC. The search included specific terms and excluded nonhybrid PET/MRI studies, and those with a sample size of fewer than 10 patients were excluded. Results: In total, 15 studies encompassing 638 patients were found addressing the diagnostic test accuracy for PET/MRI within the chosen subject domain. Squamous cell carcinoma of the nasopharynx was the most observed HNSCC subtype (n = 198). The metaanalysis included 12 studies, with pooled sensitivity and specificity values of 93% and 95% per patient for primary disease evaluation, 93% and 96% for locoregional evaluation, and 89% and 98% per lesion for nodal disease detection, respectively. An examination of a subset of studies comparing PET/MRI against PET/CT or MRI alone for evaluating nodal and locoregional HNSCC found that PET/MRI may offer slightly higher accuracy than other modalities. However, this difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: PET/MRI has excellent potential for identifying primary, locoregional, and nodal HNSCC.




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Mapping Human Cortical Areas In Vivo Based on Myelin Content as Revealed by T1- and T2-Weighted MRI

Matthew F. Glasser
Aug 10, 2011; 31:11597-11616
BehavioralSystemsCognitive




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A Novel Directed Seed-Based Connectivity Analysis Toolbox Applied to Human and Marmoset Resting-State FMRI

Estimating the direction of functional connectivity (FC) can help further elucidate complex brain function. However, the estimation of directed FC at the voxel level in fMRI data, and evaluating its performance, has yet to be done. We therefore developed a novel directed seed-based connectivity analysis (SCA) method based on normalized pairwise Granger causality that provides greater detail and accuracy over ROI-based methods. We evaluated its performance against 145 cortical retrograde tracer injections in male and female marmosets that were used as ground truth cellular connectivity on a voxel-by-voxel basis. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was calculated for each injection, and we achieved area under the ROC curve of 0.95 for undirected and 0.942 for directed SCA in the case of high cell count threshold. This indicates that SCA can reliably estimate the strong cellular connections between voxels in fMRI data. We then used our directed SCA method to analyze the human default mode network (DMN) and found that dlPFC (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and temporal lobe were separated from other DMN regions, forming part of the language-network that works together with the core DMN regions. We also found that the cerebellum (Crus I-II) was strongly targeted by the posterior parietal cortices and dlPFC, but reciprocal connections were not observed. Thus, the cerebellum may not be a part of, but instead a target of, the DMN and language-network. Summarily, our novel directed SCA method, visualized with a new functional flat mapping technique, opens a new paradigm for whole-brain functional analysis.




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Cardiac MRI of an animal that has undergone photosynthetic therapy

Cardiac MRI of an animal that has undergone photosynthetic therapy. CREDIT: Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery




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Amrita Rao Celebrates 25 Years In The Entertainment Industry, Cuts Beautiful Cake. Watch

The cake topper read "25 years," and the bottom tier featured snapshots of Amrita's famous movie characters




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Dhadak 2: Triptii Dimri, Siddhant Chaturvedi Start Shooting For Sequel To 2018 Film. See Viral Pics

The first movie released in 2018 and featured Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter in the lead roles




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Frequent MRI Scanner Exposure Might Affect Memory: Study

Title: Frequent MRI Scanner Exposure Might Affect Memory: Study
Category: Health News
Created: 8/30/2012 10:05:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/30/2012 12:00:00 AM




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Low-Field (64 mT) Portable MRI for Rapid Point-of-Care Diagnosis of Dissemination in Space in Patients Presenting with Optic Neuritis [CLINICAL PRACTICE]

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

Low-field 64 mT portable brain MRI has recently shown diagnostic promise for MS. This study aimed to evaluate the utility of portable MRI (pMRI) in assessing dissemination in space (DIS) in patients presenting with optic neuritis and determine whether deploying pMRI in the MS clinic can shorten the time from symptom onset to MRI.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Newly diagnosed patients with optic neuritis referred to a tertiary academic MS center from July 2022 to January 2024 underwent both point-of-care pMRI and subsequent 3T conventional MRI (cMRI). Images were evaluated for periventricular (PV), juxtacortical (JC), and infratentorial (IT) lesions. DIS was determined on brain MRI per 2017 McDonald criteria. Test characteristics were computed by using cMRI as the reference. Interrater and intermodality agreement between pMRI and cMRI were evaluated by using the Cohen . Time from symptom onset to pMRI and cMRI during the study period was compared with the preceding 1.5 years before pMRI implementation by using Kruskal-Wallis with post hoc Dunn tests.

RESULTS:

Twenty patients (median age: 32.5 years [interquartile range {IQR}, 28–40]; 80% women) were included, of whom 9 (45%) and 5 (25%) had DIS on cMRI and pMRI, respectively. Median time interval between pMRI and cMRI was 7 days (IQR, 3.5–12.5). Interrater agreement was very good for PV (95%, = 0.89), and good for JC and IT lesions (90%, = 0.69 for both). Intermodality agreement was good for PV (90%, = 0.80) and JC (85%, = 0.63), and moderate for IT lesions (75%, = 0.42) and DIS (80%, = 0.58). pMRI had a sensitivity of 56% and specificity of 100% for DIS. The median time from symptom onset to pMRI was significantly shorter (8.5 days [IQR 7–12]) compared with the interval to cMRI before pMRI deployment (21 days [IQR 8–49], n = 50) and after pMRI deployment (15 days [IQR 12–29], n = 30) (both P < .01). Time from symptom onset to cMRI in those periods was not significantly different (P = .29).

CONCLUSIONS:

In patients with optic neuritis, pMRI exhibited moderate concordance, moderate sensitivity, and high specificity for DIS compared with cMRI. Its integration into the MS clinic reduced the time from symptom onset to MRI. Further studies are warranted to evaluate the role of pMRI in expediting early MS diagnosis and as an imaging tool in resource-limited settings.




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Prevalence of Rathke Cleft and Other Incidental Pituitary Gland Findings on Contrast-Enhanced 3D Fat-Saturated T1 MPRAGE at 7T MRI [CLINICAL PRACTICE]

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

A cleftlike nonenhancing hypointensity was observed repeatedly in the pituitary gland at the adenohypophysis/neurohypophysis border on contrast-enhanced 3D fat-saturated T1-MPRAGE using clinical 7T MRI. Our primary goal was to assess the prevalence of this finding. The secondary goals were to evaluate the frequency of other incidental pituitary lesions, MRI artifacts, and their effect on pituitary imaging on the contrast-enhanced 3D fat-saturated T1 MPRAGE at 7T.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

One hundred patients who underwent 7T neuroimaging between October 27, 2021, and August 10, 2023, were included. Each case was evaluated for cleftlike pituitary hypointensity, pituitary masses, and artifacts on contrast-enhanced 3D fat-saturated T1 MPRAGE. Follow-up examinations were evaluated if present. The average prevalence for each finding was calculated, as were descriptive statistics for age and sex.

RESULTS:

A cleftlike hypointensity was present in 66% of 7T MRIs. There were no significant differences between the "cleftlike present" and "cleftlike absent" groups regarding sex (P = .39) and age (P = .32). The cleftlike hypointensity was demonstrated on follow-up MRIs in 3/3 patients with 7T, 1/12 with 3T, and 1/5 with 1.5T. A mass was found in 22%, while 75% had no mass and 3% were indeterminate. A mass was found in 18 (27%) of the cleftlike present and 4 (13%) of the cleftlike absent groups. The most common mass types were Rathke cleft cyst in 7 (31.8%) patients, "Rathke cleft cyst versus entrapped CSF" in 6 (27.3%), and microadenoma in 6 (22.2%) in the cleftlike present group. There were no significant differences in the mass types between the cleftlike present and cleftlike absent groups (P = .23). Susceptibility and/or motion artifacts were frequent using contrast-enhanced 3D fat-saturated T1 MPRAGE (54%). Artifact-free scans were significantly more frequent in the cleftlike present group (P = .03).

CONCLUSIONS:

A cleftlike nonenhancing hypointensity was frequently seen on the contrast-enhanced 3D fat-saturated T1 MPRAGE images at 7T MRI, which most likely represents a normal embryologic Rathke cleft remnant and cannot be seen in lower-field-strength MRIs. Susceptibility and motion artifacts are common in the sella. They may affect image quality, and the artifacts at 7T may lead to an underestimation of the prevalence of the Rathke cleft and other incidental findings.




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Probabilistic Presurgical Language fMRI Atlas of Patients with Brain Tumors [CLINICAL PRACTICE]

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

Patients with brain tumors have high intersubject variation in putative language regions, which may limit the utility of straightforward application of healthy subject brain atlases in clinical scenarios. The purpose of this study was to develop a probabilistic functional brain atlas that consolidates language functional activations of sentence completion and Silent Word Generation language paradigms using a large sample of patients with brain tumors.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

The atlas was developed using retrospectively collected fMRI data from patients with brain tumors who underwent their first standard-of-care presurgical language fMRI scan at our institution between July 18, 2015, and May 13, 2022. Three hundred seventeen patients (861 fMRI scans) were used to develop the language functional atlas. An independent presurgical language fMRI data set of 39 patients with brain tumors from a previous study was used to evaluate our atlas. Family-wise error–corrected binary functional activation maps from sentence completion, letter fluency, and category fluency presurgical fMRI were used to create probability overlap maps and pooled probabilistic overlap maps in Montreal Neurological Institute standard space. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to determine a significant difference in the maximum Dice coefficient for our atlas compared with a meta-analysis-based template with respect to expert-delineated primary language area activations.

RESULTS:

Probabilities of activating the left anterior primary language area and left posterior primary language area in the temporal lobe were 87.9% and 91.5%, respectively, for sentence completion, 88.5% and 74.2%, respectively, for letter fluency, and 83.6% and 67.6%, respectively, for category fluency. Maximum Dice coefficients for templates derived from our language atlas were significantly higher than the meta-analysis-based template in the left anterior primary language area (0.351 and 0.326, respectively, P < .05) and the left posterior primary language area in the temporal lobe (0.274 and 0.244, respectively, P < .005).

CONCLUSIONS:

Brain tumor patient- and paradigm-specific probabilistic language atlases were developed. These atlases had superior spatial agreement with fMRI activations in individual patients compared with the meta-analysis-based template.




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Enzyme Replacement Therapy for CLN2 Disease: MRI Volumetry Shows Significantly Slower Volume Loss Compared with a Natural History Cohort [CLINICAL PRACTICE]

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses are a group of neurodegenerative disorders. Recently, enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) was approved for neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 2 (CLN2), a subtype of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses. The aim of this study was to quantify brain volume loss in CLN2 disease in patients on ERT in comparison with a natural history cohort using MRI.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Nineteen (14 female, 5 male) patients with CLN2 disease at 1 UK center were studied using serial 3D T1-weighted MRI (follow-up time, 1–9 years). Brain segmentation was performed using FreeSurfer. Volume measurements for supratentorial gray and white matter, deep gray matter (basal ganglia/thalami), the lateral ventricles, and cerebellar gray and white matter were recorded. The volume change with time was analyzed using a linear mixed-effects model excluding scans before treatment onset. Comparison was made with a published natural history cohort of 12 patients (8 female, 4 male), which was re-analyzed using the same method.

RESULTS:

Brain volume loss of all segmented brain regions was much slower in treated patients compared with the natural history cohort. For example, supratentorial gray matter volume in treated patients decreased by a mean of 3% (SD, 0.74%) (P < .001) annually compared with an annual volume loss of a mean of 16.8% (SD, 1.5%) (P < .001) in the natural history cohort.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our treatment cohort showed a significantly slower rate of brain parenchymal volume loss compared with a natural history cohort in several anatomic regions. Our results complement prior clinical data that found a positive response to ERT. We demonstrate that automated MRI volumetry is a sensitive tool to monitor treatment response in children with CLN2 disease.




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Neuroimaging Correlates with Clinical Severity in Wilson Disease: A Multiparametric Quantitative Brain MRI [RESEARCH]

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

Previous studies have reported metal accumulation and microstructure changes in deep gray nuclei (DGN) in Wilson disease (WD). However, there are limited studies that investigate whether there is metal accumulation and microstructure changes in DGN of patients with WD with normal-appearing routine MRI. This study aimed to evaluate multiparametric changes in DGN of WD and whether the findings correlate with clinical severity in patients with WD.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

The study enrolled 28 patients with WD (19 with neurologic symptoms) and 25 controls. Fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), and magnetic susceptibility in globus pallidus, pontine tegmentum, dentate nucleus, red nucleus, head of caudate nucleus, putamen, substantia nigra, and thalamus were extracted. Correlations between imaging data and the Unified Wilson’s Disease Rating Scale (UWDRS) neurologic subitems were explored.

RESULTS:

FA, MD, and susceptibility values were higher in multiple DGN of patients with WD than controls (P < .05). Patients with WD without abnormal signals in DGN on routine MRI also had higher FA, MD, and susceptibility values than controls (P < .017). We found that UWDRS neurologic subscores correlated with FA and susceptibility values of DGN (P < .05). In addition, we also found that FA and susceptibility values in specific structures correlated with specific neurologic symptoms of WD (ie, tremor, parkinsonism, dysarthria, dystonia, and ataxia) (P < .05).

CONCLUSIONS:

Patients with WD have increased FA, MD, and susceptibility values even before the lesion is morphologically apparent on routine MRI. The increased FA and susceptibility values correlate with clinical severity of WD.




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A COVID-19 Cardiac MRI Study: What Went Wrong?

We still don’t know what COVID-19 is doing to the heart or how we should be investigating it and treating it. Last month JAMA Cardiology published a German cohort study of 100 patients recently recovered from COVID-19… A number of striking problems with the study were noted on Twitter…...

Click here to continue reading...




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MRI Sheds Its Shielding and Superconducting Magnets



Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has revolutionized healthcare by providing radiation-free, non-invasive 3-D medical images. However, MRI scanners often consume 25 kilowatts or more to power magnets producing magnetic fields up to 1.5 tesla. These requirements typically limits scanners’ use to specialized centers and departments in hospitals.

A University of Hong Kong team has now unveiled a low-power, highly simplified, full-body MRI device. With the help of artificial intelligence, the new scanner only requires a compact 0.05 T magnet and can run off a standard wall power outlet, requiring only 1,800 watts during operation. The researchers say their new AI-enabled machine can produce clear, detailed images on par with those from high-power MRI scanners currently used in clinics, and may one day help greatly improve access to MRI worldwide.

To generate images, MRI applies a magnetic field to align the poles of the body’s protons in the same direction. An MRI scanner then probes the body with radio waves, knocking the protons askew. When the radio waves turn off, the protons return to their original alignment, transmitting radio signals as they do so. MRI scanners receive these signals, converting them into images.

More than 150 million MRI scans are conducted worldwide annually, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. However, despite five decades of development, clinical MRI procedures remain out of reach for more than two-thirds of the world’s population, especially in low- and middle-income countries. For instance, whereas the United States has 40 scanners per million inhabitants, in 2016 there were only 84 MRI units serving West Africa’s population of more than 370 million.

This disparity largely stems from the high costs and specialized settings required for standard MRI scanners. They use powerful superconducting magnets that require a lot of space, power, and specialized infrastructure. They also need rooms shielded from radio interference, further adding to hardware costs, restricting their mobility, and hampering their availability in other medical settings.

Scientists around the globe have already been exploring low-cost MRI scanners that operate at ultra-low-field (ULF) strengths of less than 0.1 T. These devices may consume much less power and prove potentially portable enough for bedside use. Indeed, as the Hong Kong team notes, MRI development initially focused on low fields of about 0.05 T, until the introduction of the first whole-body 1.5 T superconducting scanner by General Electric in 1983.

The new MRI scanner (top left) is smaller than conventional scanners, and does away with bulky RF shielding and superconducting magnetics. The new scanner’s imaging resolution is on par with conventional scanners (bottom).Ed X. Wu/The University of Hong Kong

Current ULF MRI scanners often rely on AI to help reconstruct images from what signals they gather using relatively weak magnetic fields. However, until now, these devices were limited to solely imaging the brain, extremities, or single organs, Udunna Anazodo, an assistant professor of neurology and neurosurgery at McGill University in Montreal who did not take part in the work, notes in a review of the new study.

The Hong Kong team have now developed a whole-body ULF MRI scanner in which patients are placed between two permanent neodymium ferrite boron magnet plates—one above the body and the other below. Although these permanent magnets are far weaker than superconductive magnets, they are low-cost, readily available, and don’t require liquid helium or to be cooled to superconducting temperatures. In addition, the amount of energy ULF MRI scanners deposit into the body is roughly one-thousandth that from conventional scanners, making heat generation during imaging much less of a concern, Anazodo notes in her review. ULF MRI is also much quieter than regular MRI, which may help with pediatric scanning, she adds.

The new machine consists of two units, each roughly the size of a hospital gurney. One unit houses the MRI device, while the other supports the patient’s body as it slides into the scanner.

To account for radio interference from both the outside environment and the ULF MRI’s own electronics, the scientists deployed 10 small sensor coils around the scanner and inside the electronics cabinet to help the machine detect potentially disruptive radio signals. They also employed deep learning AI methods to help reconstruct images even in the presence of strong noise. They say this eliminates the need for shielding against radio waves, making the new device far more portable than conventional MRI.

In tests on 30 healthy volunteers, the device captured detailed images of the brain, spine, abdomen, heart, lung, and extremities. Scanning each of these targets took eight minutes or less for image resolutions of roughly 2 by 2 by 8 cubic millimeters. In Anazodo’s review, she notes the new machine produced image qualities comparable to those of conventional MRI scanners.

“It’s the beginning of a multidisciplinary endeavor to advance an entirely new class of simple, patient-centric and computing-powered point-of-care diagnostic imaging device,” says Ed Wu, a professor and chair of biomedical engineering at the University of Hong Kong.

The researchers used standard off-the-shelf electronics. All in all, they estimate hardware costs at about US $22,000. (According to imaging equipment company Block Imaging in Holt, Michigan, entry-level MRI scanners start at $225,000, and advanced premium machines can cost $500,000 or more.)

The prototype scanner’s magnet assembly is relatively heavy, weighing about 1,300 kilograms. (This is still lightweight compared to a typical clinical MRI scanner, which can weigh up to 17 tons, according to New York University’s Langone Health center.) The scientists note that optimizing the hardware could reduce the magnet assembly’s weight to about 600 kilograms, which would make the entire scanner mobile.

The researchers note their new device is not meant to replace conventional high-magnetic-field MRI. For instance, a 2023 study notes that next-generation MRI scanners using powerful 7 T magnets could yield a resolution of just 0.35 millimeters. Instead, ULF MRI can complement existing MRI by going to places that can’t host standard MRI devices, such as intensive care units and community clinics.

In an email, Anazodo adds this new Hong Kong work is just one of a number of exciting ULF MRI scanners under development. For instance, she notes that Gordon Sarty at the University of Saskatchewan and his colleagues are developing that device that is potentially even lighter, cheaper and more portable than the Hong Kong machine, which they are researching for use in whole-body imaging on the International Space Station.

Wu and his colleagues detailed their findings online 10 May in the journal Science.

This article appears in the July 2024 print issue as “Compact MRI Ditches Superconducting Magnets.”




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"How to Maintain a Healthy Weight" With Samridhi Shukla

Highlights: Samridhi Shukla is a performer and actor Despite her busy schedule, she manages to maintain a health




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Amrita Amyloid Center: Revolutionizing Amyloidosis Care in India

Highlights: Amrita Amyloid Center offers specialized multidisciplinary care for all types of systemic amyloido




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India's MRI Evolution: From Import Dependency to Homegrown Mastery

Highlights: India's MRI systems market forecasted to grow over 13% yearly, reaching (Dollor) 950M by 2030 Indigen




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Rheumatism Relief: Amritadi Churna Shines as an Ayurvedic Healing Option

Amritadi Churna has been identified as a potent Ayurvedic remedy for medlinkrheumatism/medlink, said Banaras Hindu University (BHU) scientists. The




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"Such a pretty face but got herself insulted": Urfi Javed wants Tripti Dimri to take dance lessons

Urfi Javed didn't mince her words in questioning Tripti Dimri's dance skills in Mere Mehboob song.





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Santosh Dang vs Amrinder Bhatia on 8 November, 2024

1. Vide this judgment, I shall dispose of the present complaint case filed by the complainant, Ms. Santosh Dang (hereinafter referred as the 'complainant) against the accused Amrinder Bhatia (hereinafter, referred as the 'accused'), u/s 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (in short "NI Act").

Complainant's Case

2. In a nutshell, the facts of the present case as per the complaint are that the accused and his parents approached and requested the complainant for financial help to save his auto spare parts and his car which was forcibly taken by one Gagan and Rahul. The accused told the complainant that these two persons have also threatened him with dire consequences if the accused fails to pay their debt. It is averred that considering the request of the accused being the friend of his daughter, provided financial assistance to the accused.




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Abhishek Bachhan | Nimrit Kaur:এবার বিয়ের পিঁড়িতে নিমরত! অভিষেকের সঙ্গে প্রেমের জল্পনার মাঝেই বিস্ফোরক অভিনেত্রী...

Abhishek Bachhan | Nimrit Kaur: কবে বিয়ে করছেন নিমরত? কার সঙ্গেই বা সাত পাকে বাঁধা পড়বে সেই নিয়ে চলছে জল্পানা। সম্প্রতি এক সাক্ষাৎকারের ভিডিও ভাইরাল হয়েছে যেখানে বিয়ে নিয়ে মুখ খুললেন তিনি।




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Sukanya Samridhhi Yojana: इस योजना में कितना निवेश करने पर कितना मिलेगा ब्याज? ऐसे करें चेक

अगर आपने भी सुकन्या समृद्धि योजना के तहत अकाउंट ओपन किया है. वहीं कई सालों से आप इसमें पैसे निवेश कर रहे हैं. लेकिन आपको ये नहीं पता की आपने अब तक कितने पैसे जमा कर दिए हैं और कितना ब्याज




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Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana का अकाउंट करना चाहते हैं बंद, देखें क्या है इसे जुड़ा नियम?

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana: सुकन्या समृद्धि योजना खास तौर पर लड़कियों के लिए बनाई गई है. इस योजना में आप निवेश कर अपनी बच्ची का भविष्य सुरक्षित रख सकते हैं. लेकिन कभी-कभी ऐसा भी होता है कि आप किसी मजबूरी के कारण




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Samriddhi Highway: Mahayuti's Landmark Initiative Transforming Maharashtra's Economic Landscape

The groundbreaking initiative by the Mahayuti Government, led by Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to construct the Samriddhi Highway has transformed Maharashtra's landscape. This highway, the first high-speed road in India, named the Hindu Hrudayasmrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samriddhi Highway, spans




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Triptii Dimri’s Saree Edit: 5 Chic Styles To Turn Heads At Diwali Bash

Triptii Dimri has perfected the skill of creating trends that combine modernism and beauty. She has become a fashion icon for those who want to stand out, particularly during holiday seasons, thanks to her daring yet elegant style. Her Diwali party




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Trade policy and gender equality [Electronic book] / edited by Amrita Bahri, Dorotea López, Jan Yves Remy.

Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2023.




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Aspiring in Later Life : Movements across Time, Space, and Generations [Electronic book] / ed. by Dora Sampaio, Victoria K. Sakti, Megha Amrith.

New Brunswick, NJ : Rutgers University Press, [2023]




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Sodium lanthanide tungstate-based nanoparticles as bimodal contrast agents for in vivo high-field MRI and CT imaging

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2024, 12,11123-11133
DOI: 10.1039/D4TB01157K, Paper
Open Access
Elisabet Gómez-González, Carlos Caro, Nuria O. Núñez, Daniel González-Mancebo, Jesús D. Urbano-Gámez, Maria L. García-Martín, Manuel Ocaña
NaLn(WO4)2 (Ln = Dy or Ho) nanoparticles functionalized with polyacrylic acid exhibit excellent performance as bimodal contrast agents for high-field MRI and X-ray computed tomography bioimaging and show tumor targeting ability through the EPR effect.
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