GE Healthcare has installed a prototype of a miniature MRI system in the neonatal unit at the Jessop Wing Maternity Hospital in Sheffield, U.K.
Part of a two-year research project assessing the feasibility and benefits of scanning babies in the neonatal unit, the prototype scanner represents a collaboration between the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust, the University of Sheffield, GE, and the Wellcome Trust. Dr. Paul Griffiths, PhD, and Martyn Paley, PhD, of the University of Sheffield have been working on the concept and design of the scanner for 12 years, GE said.
A prototype of a neonatal MRI scanner developed by GE in collaboration with the University of Sheffield and the Wellcome Trust.The miniature scanner enables babies to be scanned in the neonatal unit, avoiding the need to transport them to the main radiology department elsewhere in the hospital or to transfer them via an ambulance to Sheffield Children's Hospital, according to GE. It also yields more clinical information than a bedside ultrasound study, the company said.
The research study has included both healthy babies and well as premature babies. If the research is successful, GE said it hopes the scanner will be granted the relevant approvals for use on a routine clinical basis.
For further information about the Sheffield installation, go to the article on the BBC news website.
