MRI scanner for imaging the brains of premature babies
Medical imaging residents in Sheffield are pioneering the use of a compact MRI scanner for imaging the brains of premature babies. At present, ultrasound is normally used to scan the brains of newborns. Although, MRI is better at showing the structures of the brain and abnormalities more clearly. The compact baby MRI scanner at the Royal Hallamshire is not much bigger than a washing machine and just metres away from the neonatal intensive care unit, meaning that specialist staff are on hand in case of problems. Two prototype 3 Tesla neonatal MRIs (provided by GE Healthcare with funding by the Wellcome Trust) were eventually built - the other is in Boston Children's Hospital in Massachusetts - although it is no longer in use. Neither machine has regulatory approval for clinical use, and both remain purely for research.