Smart MRI Monitoring Device to Increase Patient Safety

A new self-learning and affordable device is being developed for simultaneous wireless recording of both EEG and fMRI data during an MRI scan.

The device will allow clinicians to better monitor patients by recording diagnostic electro-physiological signals while a patient is undergoing a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan.

The technology was developed by researchers at Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN, USA) Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, and School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and was presented at the 2017 annual International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) conference.

The intelligent device, as small as a coin, could start and stop recording useful diagnostic signals, autonomously, during an MRI scan and thereby serve as a platform that can combine all imaging technologies. The device could enable clinicians to record, stimulate, and image organs such as the brain, during an MRI scan, reduce health risks, and improving the imaging results.

Graduate research assistant, Nishant Babaria, said, "MRI alone does not always provide enough information to clinicians. There is tremendous scientific and clinical value in using multiple technologies together on a single platform. We believe this device is the first of its kind. It’s wireless and directly powered and operated by the MRI. It is much more affordable than other commercial systems, and provides much better quality in neural recording and stimulation during MRI imaging. The device has great potential to significantly improve the safety, efficacy, and precision of medical diagnostics for patients who suffer from epilepsy, Parkinson’s diseases, depression, and many more diseases."

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