Hyperfine, Inc., a creator of the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared portable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device, Swoop, announced that M Health Fairview is deploying a Swoop system in the emergency room (ER), intensive care unit (ICU) and post anesthesia environments at M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center.
The hospital is the first in the state of Minnesota, and one of the first in the country, to offer this technology to its patients.
Swoop’s portable design and easy-to-use interface make it accessible for use in hospitals, clinics, and other settings outside of the conventional MRI suite. Instead of requiring a team of three to four nurses to transport a critically ill patient to an MRI room on a different floor, the Swoop system can be wheeled straight to a patient’s bed. The Swoop system is also a fraction of the cost of a traditional MRI unit, which helps hospitals and patients save valuable time and financial resources.
Swoop was designed to enable rapid diagnoses and treatment for every patient regardless of income, resources, or location, pushing the boundaries of conventional imaging technology and expanding patient access to life-saving care. In as little as 30 seconds after a Swoop scan, advanced artificial intelligence applications analyze and return annotated, segmented brain images, providing clinicians with quantitative markers for decision support and immediate feedback for diagnostic insight.
Through deep learning and artificial intelligence-aided image reconstruction, Swoop is able to assess brain tissue in real-time which provides physicians the ability to make quick and informed clinical decisions for patients. Swoop results are displayed on a tablet and deliver crisp, clear T1, T2, FLAIR, and DWI (with ADC map) tissue contrasts within minutes before uploading the scans to local PACS (Picture Archive and Communications System).
The device also has a lower field strength than standard MRI systems which greatly enhances patient safety and shortens the time required for each MRI. These features allow clinicians to quickly scan, diagnose and treat patients within crowded healthcare environments like ERs, ORs, and ICUs. The device also eliminates the need for comprehensive metal detection, allowing for parents of pediatric patients to stay bedside while their children get life-saving scans.
