Summary:

• This blog summarizes the Point of Care MRI for the Neurocritical Care Unit Patient webinar and showcases portable MRI technology. Dr. Khan Siddiqui emphasizes how the Swoop system simplifies ICU imaging and cuts costs by bringing MRIs directly to the patient’s bedside.
• Rafael O’Halloran, PhD, compares the ultra-low-field Swoop portable MR brain imaging system to high-field MRI scanners, highlighting the Swoop system’s convenience and adequate resolution to enable physicians to answer clinical questions.
• Dr. Chip Truwit presents cases illustrating the Swoop system’s utility in answering urgent clinical questions in the ICU, focusing on acute neurological changes and the need for immediate interventions​​.

Recent advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have enabled the development of portable MRI technology. An informative webinar, linked below, hosted by Khan Siddiqui, MD, Chip Truwit, MD, and Rafael O’Halloran, PhD introduces you to these advances, provides a fascinating overview of ultra-low-field Swoop^_® Portable MR Imaging^_® technology, and offers a case-based review demonstrating the applicability and inherent advantages of point-of-care MR imaging in neurocritical care settings.

During the webinar, Hyperfine, Inc. Chief Medical Officer and Chief Strategy Officer Khan Siddiqui, MD shares how MR imaging technology for ICU patients simplifies workloads and reduces operational costs. “What we are aiming to do with point-of-care MR with our Swoop [system] is simplify this imaging workflow. With the scanner being in the ICU, the scanner is driven to the patient's bedside—no need to worry about moving the patient to different equipment and different beds. The MR exam is done right there. Then images go to the PACS.”

Hyperfine, Inc. Senior Scientist and Manager of Imaging Rafael O’Halloran, PhD offers an enlightening overview of the similarities and differences between 0.064T point-of-care MRI and conventional 1.5T or 3T MRI. “The analogy that I feel like is the most apt and the most relatable is that of a cell phone camera to a DSLR camera. These two devices are both photographic devices that make images of visible light, and they're both appropriate for different situations. You would use the high-end camera where you need a very high resolution, the most perfect image, and you use a cell phone camera where convenience is more important and where it's more important to have something that's always available to make the image.” He continues, “For many applications, the [image] resolution that we can achieve is enough to [enable physicians to] answer the clinical questions.”

In the final segment of this webinar, Hyperfine, Inc. Senior Medical Director Chip Truwit, MD discusses real-world cases that used the Swoop Portable MR Imaging system and how the system impacted patient care decisions. “Those are four cases that demonstrate some of the advantages of being able to answer really binary questions in the intensive care unit. We're not looking at Ramsay Hunt or trigeminal neuralgia. We're looking for acute stroke or subacute stroke evolution. Is there a clinical change that might reveal that there's extension or a new component of the stroke? Is there worsening of the epidural or subdural hemorrhage in a patient? Is there obstruction of the ventricles that might require ventriculostomy?”

Want to hear more? We invite you to view the webinar below and learn about ultra-low-field point-of-care MRI for the neurocritical patient.