Browse Topic: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
The integration of advanced technologies is driving significant improvements in medical imaging and diagnostic capabilities. This article explores key modalities like ultrasound, MRI, OCT, x-ray, CT, and PET, as well as several emerging trends that are driving performance improvements (see Table 1).
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scanning have improved and extended millions of patient lives by giving medical professionals high quality images of injures, tumors, infections, internal bruises, and other areas of concern within patient bodies. While the value of these systems is undeniable, their size, capital cost, and per-use cost limit their availability in certain applications.
Tools that allow neuroscientists to record and quantify functional activity within the living brain are in great demand. Traditionally, researchers have used techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, but this method cannot record neural activity with high spatial resolution or in moving subjects. In recent years, a technology called optogenetics has shown considerable success in recording neural activity from animals in real time with single neuron resolution.
Preclinical laboratories at academic facilities and contract research organizations (CROs) have traditionally relied on five main imaging modalities: optical, acoustic, x-ray, MRI, and nuclear. Now, photoacoustic imaging, which combines optical and acoustic modalities, is enabling some of the most promising medical research, including providing images of biological structures for increased visibility during surgery and facilitating the analysis of plaque composition to better diagnose and treat coronary artery disease (CAD).
A new artificial intelligence (AI) technology for heart imaging can potentially improve care for patients, allowing doctors to examine their hearts for scar tissue while eliminating the need for contrast injections required for traditional cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR).
WHO: Xin Zhang, a College of Engineering Professor of mechanical engineering, and her team at Boston University’s Photonics Center have designed a wearable magnetic material that can create better brain scans.
Today, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology is widely used by healthcare professionals to examine soft tissues and organs in the body. MRI is an excellent diagnostic tool because it can be used to detect a variety of potentially life-threatening issues ranging from degenerative diseases to tumors in a noninvasive manner. To understand the design challenges involved in developing MRI equipment, specifically when it comes to the selection of radio-frequency (RF) and electrical components such as capacitors, it’s first important to understand the basic physics behind the way MRI machines operate.
Engineers have created a four-legged soft robot that doesn’t need any electronics to work. The robot only needs a constant source of pressurized air for all its functions including its controls and locomotion systems. Applications include robots that can operate in environments where electronics cannot function such as MRI machines or mine shafts. Soft robots are of particular interest because they easily adapt to their environment and operate safely near humans.
Tools that allow neuroscientists to record and quantify functional activity within the living brain are in great demand. Traditionally, researchers have used techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, but this method cannot record neural activity with high spatial resolution or in moving subjects. In recent years, a technology called optogenetics has shown considerable success in recording neural activity from animals in real time with single neuron resolution.
An anatomically detailed rhesus monkey brain FE model was developed to simulate in vivo responses of the brain of sub-human primates subjected to rotational accelerations resulting in diffuse axonal injury (DAI). The material properties used in the monkey model are those in the GHBMC 50th percentile male head model (Global Human Body Model Consortium). The angular loading simulations consisted of coronal, oblique and sagittal plane rotations with the center of rotation in neck to duplicate experimental conditions. Maximum principal strain (MPS) and Cumulative strain damage measure (CSDM) were analyzed for various white matter structures such as the cerebrum subcortical white matter, corpus callosum and brainstem. The MPS in coronal rotation were 45% to 54% higher in the brainstem, 8% to 48% higher in the corpus callosum, 13% to 22% higher in the white matter when compared to those in oblique and sagittal rotations, suggesting that more severe DAI was expected from coronal and oblique
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used to investigate gas flow in diesel and gasoline particulate filters, exploring gas flow both within the channels and also at the entrance and exit of the filters (expansion and contraction effects). The latter measurement can be used to measure turbulent diffusivity in the filter bulk flow characteristics, and therefore estimate the importance of entrance and exit effects in contributing to overall filter back pressure as the filter properties and/or exhaust flow changes (i.e. with Reynolds number). The former measurement gives information that can be used to evaluate filter performance, in particular with respect to filtration efficiency, and examples will be shown from our measurements on diesel filter systems.
Previous research has detailed contributing factors to thoracolumbar compression fracture injury risk during frontal impacts in motorsport drivers utilizing a nearly recumbent driving position (Katsuhara, Takahira, Hayashi, Kitagawa, & Yasuki, 2017; Trammell, Weaver, & Bock, 2006; Troxel, Melvin, Begeman, & Grimm, 2006). This type of injury is very rare for upright seated motorsport drivers. While numerous improvements have been made to the driver restraint system used in the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Incorporated (NASCAR®) since 2000, two instances of lumbar compression fractures have occurred during frontal impacts. Through the use of computation modeling, this study explores the influence of initial driver position and seat ramp design on thoracolumbar loading during frontal impacts. Quasi-static component testing, dynamic component testing, an instrumented driver fit check, a seat ramp angle survey, and sled testing were conducted to provide computational
An international research team has developed a device capable of improving the performance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) units. The technology is based on local redistribution of a magnetic field with the help of a metasurface made of metal resonators. It was proven experimentally that the metasurface is capable of reducing the power required to produce high-quality images using an MRI unit. The use of MRI units of lower intensity makes it possible to make MRI diagnostics safe for people with medical implants. The results of this research were published in the Journal of Magnetic Resonance. 1
A biopsy robot made from 3D printed plastic can be used in an MRI scanner. The advantage of plastic is that the robot can carry out a biopsy (removing a piece of tissue) during a breast cancer scan in an MRI, which significantly increases accuracy. The Stormram 4 is a stimulus for the entire diagnostic phase of breast cancer; the accurate needle control, effectively real-time MRI scanning and a single, thin-needle biopsy enable quicker and more accurate diagnoses to be made. The researchers believe medical robotics is sure to become standard procedure in hospitals in the near future.
Staying competitive calls for medical equipment OEMs to constantly keep pace with the speed of innovation. Better medical treatment and care can be achieved with fast, accurate results from advanced imaging applications such as CT scanning and MRI that process and analyze large amounts of data, requiring developers to build devices that deliver ever-increasing computing performance. Supporting this demand, high-performance embedded computing platforms that use the latest faster and more efficient processors are essential in helping OEMs keep up with these enhanced performance requirements.
A technology being developed could provide an affordable, smart, self-learning device that, when placed into existing MRI machines, could allow medical professionals to monitor patients more effectively and safely, by performing concurrent medical imaging and recording for diagnostic purposes.
Scientists from the Netherlands and Russia have developed a new technology for enhancing the local sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners. The metasurface-based MRI has been tested on human test subjects for the first time. The metasurface consists of thin resonant strips arranged periodically. Placed under a patient’s head, it provides much higher image quality from the local brain region.
A new, noninvasive test developed by researchers at the University of Georgia shows how exercise can help people with neurological injuries and illnesses. Until now, evaluating the muscle health of individuals with multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, and other severe nerve damage was only possible using expensive equipment, such as an MRI.
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