In 1977, the first MR human body image took 4 hours and 45 minutes to generate results. Forty years later, MRI scan times are shorter. Yet, 15-30 minutes are still required to scan a single body part. Radiologists and healthcare systems worldwide are looking forward to further improved MRI efficiency.
In India, we collaborated with Sprint Diagnostics to test the possibility of using AI to help MRI achieve greater clinical scan efficiency. Like many developing countries, India has a huge population with many unmet health needs and a shortage of equipment. They urgently need to make every MRI scanner work faster without sacrificing image quality.
With the help of our AI-assisted Compressed Sensing technology(uAIFI ACS), the MRI scan time of many common body parts can be significantly reduced. Our scientists and Sprint Diagnostics' doctors were pleasantly surprised to discover that the scan time for kidneys was shortened to 12 seconds while the image resolution improved. If this technology is widely adopted, radiology departments can perform 4-5 times more MRI scans than before, greatly benefiting doctors and patients around the world.