New low-cost MRI machine can improve access to diagnostics in India Premium

Scientists have designed a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner that costs a fraction of existing machines, setting the stage for improving access to this widely used diagnostic tool.

Scientists have designed a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner that costs a fraction of existing machines, setting the stage for improving access to this widely used diagnostic tool.

A MRI helps visualise minute details in the human body, with which doctors can diagnose disorders and select treatments for the brain, the heart, various cancers, and orthopaedic conditions.

These scanners work by using strong magnetic fields, measured in units called tesla (T), and radio waves to generate images of internal organs. The strength of these magnetic fields in clinical MRI setups range between 1.5 T and 3 T — or 4-8-times stronger than the typical magnetic field in a sunspot on the Sun.

This potentially life-saving medical technology remains inaccessible to most of the population, especially in low- and middle-income countries like India, largely because of the scanner’s high cost and the infrastructure required to handle such a powerful instrument. This includes shielding the room that houses the machine to contain the effects of strong magnets; liquid helium to cool the magnets when they heat up during operation; and the electric power required to operate the scanner.

“A 3-T MRI machine can cost anywhere between 9 and 13 crore rupees,” Mukul Mutatkar, an interventional radiology consultant with several hospitals in Pune, including Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital and Ruby Hall Clinic, said. “And that’s just the machine. There are additional infrastructure costs.”

To address this problem, a team led by Ed Wu at the University of Hong Kong designed and built an MRI machine using low strength magnets and store-bought hardware. This simplified machine costs around $22,000, or about Rs 18.4 lakh. The machine uses 0.05 T magnets and doesn’t need a shielded room or helium coolant to operate. It can be plugged into standard wall-power outlets.

“This will usher in an entirely new class of MRI scanners that are affordable, low-power, and compact,” Dr. Wu wrote in an email.