Portable and Affordable MRI

A wrist-sized Magnetic Resonance Imager (MRI) has been designed to enable access to medical images without the use of ionizing radiation. This portable MRI uses new approaches to MRI magnet design and radio transmitter design to encode spatial information into the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signal, reducing the mass of the MRI by an order of magnitude over existing approaches. The MRI design mass is less than 5kg, and it is intended for imaging the wrist for clinical assessment of bone and muscle health for indications such as osteoporosis. This new device, when scaled up, will help provide MRI access to remote regions, in primary health care settings, in the emergency room and in the operating room for use with minimally invasive and robotic surgery. The device is also optimally suited for use in space, where there is a need to monitor bone and muscle conditions while considering constraints on the mass and size of imaging tools.