Pakistan Becomes First Asian Country to Launch Portable MRI
A 4.5 feet high and 3 feet wide Hyperfine Swoop MRI system will assist patients at their doorsteps
Aga Khan University Medical College successfully acquires a portable Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) named Hyperfine Swoop, making Pakistan the first Asian country and third outside the United States (US).
A 4.5 feet high and 3 feet wide Hyperfine Swoop MRI system is designed to assist patients at their doorsteps
AKU’S Hyperfine Swoop MRI will also deliver the first-ever insights into how providing nutrition supplements to pregnant women affects the size and structure of the brains of newborns and infants.
Taking to his Twitter account, the Aga Khan University Medical College Dean announced the launch of the portable MRI system.
Welcoming the #HyperFine Portable #MRI Machine to @AKUGlobal today!! This is the world’s 1st portable machine and the first to come to #Asia right here at our campus at #AKU! The machine will initially be used for @FyezahJehan & team’s #research project pic.twitter.com/aaiTytHrZ9
— Adil Haider (@AdilHaiderMD) April 21, 2021
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Dr Harry Hu, a senior clinical scientist at Hyperfine Research said, “With conventional MRIs, you have to bring the person to the machine but Hyperfine Swoop enables you to bring the machine to the bedside of a critically ill patient”.
Previously, the traditional MRIs were becoming unsuitable for critically ill patients as they find it difficult to move from bed to radiology department as well as for patients, who may feel intimidated by shrill sound of the machine.
AKU’s portable Hyperfine Swoop MRI has been funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Swoop system has been designed and manufactured by Hyperfine Research in the US and had been in development for past seven years.
Commenting on the futuristic approach, developers quoted that radiologists and clinicians will soon be enabled to envision brain scans of adult and pediatric patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) using the portable MRI at the Aga Khan University Hospital.
Hyperfine Chief Medical Officer Dr Khan Siddiqui said, “In hospitals around the world many critically ill patients don’t get imaged because it is too dangerous to move them to the MRI machine”.
He added, “Hyperfine Swoop expands access to imaging which is more convenient for patients who need multiple scans. It is also essential for clinicians who need advanced images to make faster and better treatment decisions”.
