The boost in efficiency for measuring such scarring could make it easier for clinicians to overcome the time-consuming process of quantifying late gadolinium enhancement (LGE)—a proven predictor of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Patients who are enrolled in Ireland’s public health system are waiting, on average, 120 days more for a brain MRI compared to those who can afford private coverage, the Irish Times reports.
The novel method uses a deep neural network to improve fluorescence lifetime imaging, which allowed scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to view molecular-level interactions within cells.
Besides pinpointing microfractures, the researchers believe combining color spectral CT imaging with their novel nanoparticles could help detect more serious problems such as heart blockages.
Not only can the metamaterial boost signal-to-noise ratio 10-fold, but It can reduce scan times, potentially making the modality more widely available for patients at lower costs.
"The 7T MRI scanner affords us new ways of viewing areas of damage in neurologic diseases such as MS that were not well seen using 3T MRI," corresponding author Jonathan Zurawski, MD, said.
Coronary artery calcium scoring has proven to be more predictive of cardiovascular risk than any other biomarker, but quantifying scores via imaging remains a time-consuming and labor-intensive task.
St. George University Hospitals Foundation Trust in the U.K. admitted that missed radiology findings contributed to the death of three patients at its hospital, according to reporting from Health Services Journal.
