Pediatric Neurosurgeon at Wolfson Children’s Hospital, Dr. Alexandra Beier, talks about a new portable MRI that can ease children’s anxiety and make diagnosing quicker.
Interview conducted by Ivanhoe Broadcast News in 2023.
Why are portable MRIs valuable?
BEIER: Unfortunately, a lot of the patients that we take care of are either really small or they’re really sick. Most of the neurosurgical patients are here either for a trauma, a tumor, or some large operation that requires follow-up imaging. It’s very challenging having to move these patients down to a large MRI machine, so having the ability to do it at the bedside is easier for the patient. It’s also easier for the nurses as well as respiratory therapy when you’re trying to transport these critical patients to another place.
Does the portable version work just as well as the full?
BEIER: It’s not as detailed as a 1.5T or a 3T MRI scanner, but it gives you enough information to still make appropriate medical choices. For example, if we’re looking for a stroke or we’re looking for a blood clot or collections, the portable MRI is a useful device for that.
Could they ever replace an MRI?
BEIER: No, it could never replace a full MRI. It just provides an opportunity to quickly gather the information neccesary to make a decision.
There seems to be a difference between a traditional MRI and a portable MRI. What are their distinctions?
BEIER: The MRI that we would standardly use is either a 1.5 or 3 Tesla, and this is a 0.6 Tesla. It’s obviously a less stronger of a magnet. However, it’s much safer in the sense that it’s not as powerful, it’s basically as strong as a refrigerator magnet, so you can be up close to the patient. You don’t have to have these boundaries where you have to worry about metal. With the sick children that have a lot of IV pumps, they have their ET tube, and all these things that may cause problems in a larger Tesla magnet. The lower Tesla is very helpful for them.
It looks like a better option. Also, less intimidating.
BEIER: Definitely. It’s much more open, you can actually even put an iPad or an iPhone inside and let the children watch something if they’re awake. You can peer inside the MRI and even hold their hand as it’s going on, which is very helpful for the children.
A portable MRI seems to be incredibly helpful for patients who are in a delicate state. Is this correct?
BEIER: Correct. There’s a lot of patients, especially the cardiac patients, where they cannot physically be moved. Even with our severe traumatic brain injury patients, you run a risk of increasing pressure to their brain by moving them. Having this at the bedside and bringing it to the patient makes it so much safer for them.
This emphasized element of safety, does it help change the game for nurses as well?
BEIER: Absolutely. It’s safer for the patient because the patient doesn’t have to be moved. It’s safer for the nurses because they don’t have to change over all their different equipment to different IV pumps. It’s also safer for the nurses in the sense that they don’t have to leave their other patient and go down to another floor, for an hour or a half to scan. Everything can be done right there and they’re not leaving the floor and their other patients.
How much quicker is the use of a portable MRI than a standard MRI?
BEIER: It’s about the same. You can get sequences in real-time, as you’re scanning you can get that information. But if you’re trying to do the scan, sometimes it is about the same length as an MRI. If you went down to a full MRI, however, you’re minimizing the transport time. You’re not taking that extra half hour to get there and get back and so forth.
How have you found the portable MRI beneficial for your neuroscience program?
BEIER: It’s very beneficial for our neuroscience program because we take care of some of the most critical patients, and they’re the ones who are at most risk when we are transporting them. Especially when patients come in with a head trauma where they really should not be moved or touched for the first 24, 48, or 72 hours. We’re now able to still image their brain and get the information we need which makes it very successful for these patients.
What would you do with those patients before?
BEIER: A lot of times, if they’re that critical, we would not get imaging and just rely on vital signs from a pressure monitor or things like that. Unfortunately, we would not be able to see what’s going on because we wouldn’t be able to transport them.
What risks come with waiting?
BEIER: If you saw something developing, if you saw an evolving stroke, or if you saw an evolving hemorrhage, you could’ve caught that early.
END OF INTERVIEW
This information is intended for additional research purposes only. It is not to be used as a prescription or advice from Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc. or any medical professional interviewed. Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc. assumes no responsibility for the depth or accuracy of physician statements. Procedures or medicines apply to different people and medical factors; always consult your physician on medical matters.
If you would like more information, please contact:
Vikki Mioduszewski Emily Sharpe
Vikki.mioduszewski@bmcjax.com Emily.sharpe@bmcjax.com
Sign up for a free weekly e-mail on Medical Breakthroughs called First to Know by clicking here
