Portable MRI technology at Wexner Medical Center makes scanning as easy as pushing a button

The Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State received two portable imaging machines designed to reduce diagnosis time for stroke patients in mid-September. 

The MRI machines can allow doctors to administer treatments they were previously unable to because of safety concerns, Dr. Shahid Nimjee, surgical director of the medical center’s Comprehensive Stroke Center, said. 

“This could be transformative in terms of improving outcomes in patients who present ischemic stroke to the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center,” Nimjee said.

Nimjee said an acute ischemic stroke is a blockage in a blood vessel in the brain that results in inadequate blood getting to the brain, which can cause irreversible injury to that part of the brain and lead to neurological deficits, such as vision and speaking difficulty, weakness and numbness.

The machines are called Swoop and were developed by Hyperfine, a medical technology company.

Khan Siddiqui, Hyperfine’s chief medical officer and chief strategy officer, said portable Swoop units could potentially lessen scanning backlogs, increase traditional MRI scanning availability and scan volume.

Nimjee said one machine is specifically dedicated to the emergency room for patients who are suffering acute ischemic strokes, and the other is used to aid in the operating room, where all open and endovascular — inside blood vessels — procedures occur.

The machines sit on four wheels and can be taken to the patient, allowing easier and faster assessment of brain tissue, Nimjee said. Then, the neurologist can determine the best course of action.

“We can do it faster and finally, those images are ready for viewing immediately,” Nimjee said.

Siddiqui said Swoop portable systems are a much cheaper option — costing less than $100,000. A conventional MRI system costs approximately $2 million for the scanner itself, plus additional fees.

After staff is trained to operate the technology, using it is very simple, Siddiqui said.

“It’s like an iTunes playlist: you select what you want to scan for, hit play and the scanner does everything on its own,” he said.

Siddiqui said the Swoop’s bore size, the vertical space available for the head to go into the machine, reduces the claustrophobic feel patients may experience when using a traditional MRI scanner. 

The portable MRI uses a smaller magnet than traditional machines, which decreases safety risks surrounding the magnetic field, Siddiqui said.

Nimjee said the effectiveness and impact of the Swoop machines can be determined as the machines are used over the next six to 12 months.

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