Researchers from the Faculty of Information Technology at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts are working on a mobile magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device for medical diagnoses. The low-field MRI is not only smaller, lighter and therefore more mobile, it also costs only a fraction of the large MRI tubes.
"Our work takes us back to the origins of MRI," explains Prof. Dr. Benjamin Menküc from the Faculty of Information Technology at Fachhochschule Dortmund. In the early 1980s, magnetic resonance imaging worked with low-intensity magnetic fields, but these were then steadily increased in order to obtain more precise images of organs and tissue. Nowadays, superconducting magnets are used, which generate a strong field but also require complex cooling with liquid helium.
In the "A4IM" project, they are now using less powerful magnetic fields again. "This is possible because signal processing is now much better," says Prof. Menküc. "The magnetic field no longer has to be 100 percent homogeneous. We can technically compensate for minor inhomogeneities." This creates new possibilities for more cost-effective MRI devices. This is why the European Union is funding the project with a total of around 2.5 million euros. Fachhochschule Dortmund, which is working on "A4IM" in a consortium with many other European universities and research institutes, will receive part of this.
200 kilograms instead of several tons
"All partners are working on their own prototype, but each institution has its own focus. Fachhochschule Dortmund is in charge of developing the control elements and the necessary programming," says Prof. Menküc. All data is exchanged with the partners.
Nils Allek worked on the prototype of the low-field MRI for his final thesis in the Digital Technologies study program at Fachhochschule Dortmund. He is now a research assistant in the "A4IM" project. "The prototypes are significantly smaller than conventional MRI devices," says Nils Allek. "For example, the head, arm or legs can be examined separately in the imaging procedure." The advantage: the smaller devices weigh only 200 kilograms instead of several tons. They are easier to transport and, thanks to the lower costs, can also be used in places where a large MRI is not worthwhile. Prof. Menküc speaks of around 50,000 euros for a low-field MRI. A fraction of the acquisition costs for the large devices, which cost several million.
The "A4IM" research project at Fachhochschule Dortmund and the partner institutions will run until 2026. If the prototypes prove to be as reliable as the initial data suggests, medical approval is the next step.