Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the gold standard imaging modality for soft tissues. It produces detail cross-sectional images of soft tissue and bone anatomy, including muscles, tendons, ligaments, brain and organs, without the use of ionizing radiation. In addition to orthopedic imaging, MRI is also used for heart, brain and breast. MRI uses gadolinium contrast in many exams to highlight tissues and blood vessels, which enhances images and offers better diagnostic quality. It can also be used in conjunction with PET scans. How does MRI work? MR creates images by using powerful magnets to polarize hydrogen atoms in water (the body is made of of more than 80% water) so they face in one direction. A radiofrequency pulse is then used to ping these atoms, causing them to wobble, or resonate. The MRI coils detect this and computers can assemble images from the signals. Basic MRI scans will focus on the resonance of fat and water in two different sequences, which highlight and contrast different features in the anatomy.

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Insurance company’s estimate was way off, leaving patient shocked by MRI price

When a patient in Delaware County, Pennsylvania used her insurance provider’s online pricing tool to obtain the price of a breast MRI, she thought it would at least be close. It wasn’t.

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SCMR's Annual Scientific Sessions to focus on global cardiovascular MR community

The Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) announced the lineup for its upcoming 22nd Annual Scientific Sessions, which has a theme of “Global CMR: Innovation and Clinical Outcomes.”

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Quantib gains FDA clearance for AI solution that helps radiologists read MRI brain scans

Quantib, a medical technology company based out of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, has received FDA clearance for its Quantib Neurodegenerative (ND) solution.

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Canadian hospital announces new MRI equipment for emergency department

Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, is soon to be home to the first MRI scanner in an emergency department in the entire province.

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MRI scans help research team learn more about treating brain tumors

Healthcare providers should consider treating men and women with glioblastoma (GBM) in different ways, according to a study published in Science Translational Medicine.

Clinical trial focused on MRI-guided radiation therapy enrolls first patient

Researchers have enrolled the first patient for the Stereotactic MRI-guided On-table Adaptive Radiation Therapy (SMART) Trial, a multi-center clinical trial that will investigate the benefits of MRI-guided, high-dose radiation therapy on patients with inoperable pancreatic cancer.

Aspiration system using real-time MRI guidance gains FDA clearance

Irvine, California-based MRI Interventions announced that it has received FDA clearance for its ClearPoint PURSUIT Neuro Aspiration system. The solution helps surgeons identify an aspiration target using real-time MRI guidance and monitor aspiration during the procedure.

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Researchers in China developing $126M MRI to search for 'the soul'

An MRI scanner to find and study—the soul? Researchers at the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology are currently working on building a £100 million ($126 million) MRI scanner they say could do just that.

Around the web

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.

The all-in-one Omni Legend PET/CT scanner is now being manufactured in a new production facility in Waukesha, Wisconsin.