Dear MRI Insider,
This issue of the Insider profiles start-up company InseRT MRI, which was founded by a group of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The group has developed a new software platform that would allow surgeons to use MRI to observe the brain in real-time during surgery and therapeutic drug treatment.
The goal is to create workflow applications for MRI-guided minimally invasive procedures using real-time interfaces and scanning capabilities that can be customized for individual interventions. Read more about this venture in our Insider Exclusive, available to you first as an Insider subscriber.
In another example of new technology, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco have unveiled a steerable MRI-guided catheter that can navigate through blood vessels from the groin to the brain in search of clots to destroy. The investigational tool is faster and more agile than previous MRI-guided catheters and matched speeds achieved under x-ray guidance in a phantom.
Elsewhere, Italian researchers used diffusion-tensor MRI to detect brain changes related to improved balance and movement in multiple sclerosis patients who regularly trained on a Nintendo Wii balance board for 12 weeks. Diffusion-tensor MRI also confirmed that aerobically fit children have more favorable white-matter tracts in their brains than their less fit peers, improving their chances for greater cognitive function.
Finally, there is word that the use of MRI and CT in emergency departments has decreased after a period of rapid growth from 1993 to 2007. Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital attributed the trend to several factors, such as ionizing radiation exposure from CT and increased scrutiny of high-cost imaging.
Be sure to stay in touch with the MRI Digital Community on a daily basis to view the latest news and novel research from around the world.
