Authors say low-field portable magnetic resonance imaging may be useful in resource-limited settings<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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WEDNESDAY, Sept. 1, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Low-field portable magnetic resonance imaging (pMRI) has a sensitivity of 80.4 percent for detecting intracerebral hemorrhages (ICHs), according to a study published online Aug. 25 in Nature Communications<\/em>.<\/p>\n Mercy H. Mazurek, from the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues examined use of a low-field MRI (0.064 T) for evaluation of ICH. Patients were imaged using conventional neuroimaging (noncontrast computed tomography or 1.5\/3 T MRI) or pMRI from July 2018 to November 2020. A total of 144 pMRI examinations (56 ICH, 48 acute ischemic stroke, and 40 healthy controls) were examined by two neuroradiologists; cases of disagreement were reviewed by an ICH imaging core lab researcher.<\/p>\n The researchers found that ICH was correctly detected in 45 of 56 cases (80.4 percent sensitivity). In 85 of 88 cases, blood-negative cases were identified (96.6 percent specificity). There was an association for manually segmented hematoma volumes and ABC\/2 estimated volumes on pMRI with conventional imaging volume. For manual and ABC\/2 volumes, hematoma volumes measured on pMRI were associated with the National Institutes of Health stroke scale and clinical outcome at discharge.<\/p>\n “There is no question this device can help save lives in resource-limited settings, such as rural hospitals or developing countries,” a coauthor said in a statement. “It is of critical importance to continue to collect more data across a range of stroke characteristics so that we can maximize the potential benefit of this approach.”<\/strong><\/p>\n Several authors disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical and medical technology industries, including Hyperfine Research, which partially funded the study.<\/p>\n