Infants are not small people. One size MRI does not fit for diagnostics. MRI scanners have been specifically designed for shoulders, arms, knees, and other smaller structures. Smaller scanners expose patients to less irradiation.
The MRI images are more detailed and higher resolution.
Doctors in Sheffield are pioneering the use of a compact MRI scanner for imaging the brains of premature babies.
The machine, at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, is one of only two purpose-built neonatal MRI scanners in the world.
At present, ultrasound is normally used to scan the brains of newborns.
Prof Paul Griffiths, of the University of Sheffield, said MRI was better at showing the structures of the brain and abnormalities more clearly.
So far about 40 babies have been imaged in the MRI scanner, which was built by GE Healthcare with funding by the Wellcome Trust.
MRI scans are rarely performed on severely premature babies because the risks involved in transferring and handling a sick infant can outweigh the benefits.
It is not known how much a neonatal MRI machine would cost, should the system eventually get commercialised, but full-size scanners are typically priced at several hundred thousand pounds.
Cincinnati Children's Hospital has a 1.5 Tesla neonatal MRI scanner that was adapted from adult orthopaedic use.
World's smallest MRI helps tiny babies - BBC News
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