An MRI system for imaging neonates in the NICU: initial feasibility study.
BACKGROUND
Transporting premature infants from a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to a radiology department for MRI has medical risks and logistical challenges.


OBJECTIVE
To develop a small 1.5-T MRI system for neonatal imaging that can be easily installed in the NICU and to evaluate its performance using a sheep model of human prematurity.


METHODS
A 1.5-T MRI system designed for orthopedic use was adapted for neonatal imaging. The system was used for MRI examinations of the brain, chest and abdomen in 12 premature lambs during the first hours of life. Spin-echo, fast spin-echo and gradient-echo MR images were evaluated by two pediatric radiologists.


RESULTS
All animals remained physiologically stable throughout the imaging sessions. Animals were imaged at two or three time points. Seven brain MRI examinations were performed in seven different animals, 23 chest examinations in 12 animals and 19 abdominal examinations in 11 animals. At each anatomical location, high-quality images demonstrating good spatial resolution, signal-to-noise ratio and tissue contrast were routinely obtained within 30 min using standard clinical protocols.


CONCLUSIONS
Our preliminary experience demonstrates the feasibility and potential of the neonatal MRI system to provide state-of-the-art MRI capabilities within the NICU. Advantages include overall reduced cost and site demands, lower acoustic noise, improved ease of access and reduced medical risk to the neonate.
Imaging Research Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave., MLC 5033, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA. jean.tkach@cchmc.org
Jean A
JA
Tkach
Noah H
NH
Hillman
Alan H
AH
Jobe
Wolfgang
W
Loew
Ron G
RG
Pratt
Barret R
BR
Daniels
Suhas G
SG
Kallapur
Beth M
BM
Kline-Fath
Stephanie L
SL
Merhar
Randy O
RO
Giaquinto
Patrick M
PM
Winter
Yu
Y
Li
Machiko
M
Ikegami
Jeffrey A
JA
Whitsett
Charles L
CL
Dumoulin
D000818:Animals; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D015931:Intensive Care, Neonatal / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012756:Sheep