Andrew Webb describes in Nature five steps to make MRI scanners affordable to the whole world

Paul Lauterbur published the basic principle of MRI 50 years ago in Nature, which revolutionized medicine. Since then, MRI has become increasingly detailed, but also more expensive, making it inaccessible to a large part of the world's population. Medical Delta professor, prof. dr. Andrew Webb (LUMC), describes in Nature what is needed to make MRIs available to the entire world population.

A small and affordable MRI? Why not just replace expensive materials with cheaper alternatives and shrink the design? "Unfortunately, it's not that simple," says Andrew Webb, Professor of Radiology and consortium member of the scientific program Medical Delta Diagnostics 3.0: Dementia and Stroke. "MRI is a complex technique. To create a smaller version that can also be used in rural Africa, we had to throw out all the principles of MRI and start from scratch."

The superconducting magnet was replaced by thousands of small magnets, and electrical components were redesigned to run on less power or batteries. Algorithms that process MRI images were also adjusted to filter out external noise. The result? A scanner that weighs 75 kilograms and measures 50 by 50 centimeters, which can be easily assembled without special tools. And all of this costs only 1% of a normal MRI.

MRI for everyone

While Europe has up to 35 MRI machines per 1 million inhabitants, in Africa, it's less than 1. "An apparatus like ours enables doctors in Africa to diagnose and treat life-threatening diseases on the spot," says Webb. Although the quality of a normal MRI cannot be matched, this small MRI also has added value for high-income countries. Webb says, "It makes the scan more accessible. In theory, it can be placed in an ambulance to better assist patients with a stroke, for example."

See below the inaugural lecture video of Andrew Webb in which he talks more about his research:

Last year, the LUMC team transported their first scan to Uganda. They trained local engineers and researchers to build and maintain the system themselves. "On the technical side, we have shown that we can make an affordable MRI. Now we have to demonstrate that it is also practical." In the coming months, the device will be used to train students from other African countries.

Webb and his colleagues have chosen not to patent their technology. "Our goal is to make MRI accessible to the whole world, and that will happen faster if everyone has free access to our design." Webb and his colleagues' technology are currently being used in Paraguay, Spain, and Uganda, where it is being tested for diagnosing viral brain disorders and musculoskeletal diseases.

History lesson

"MRI has turned medicine and biomedical research upside down over the past 50 years," says Mark van Buchem, head of Radiology and one of the Scientific Leaders of the Medical Delta Diagnostics 3.0: Dementia and stroke scientific program. Until the 1970s, only X-rays were used in radiology. "That technique provided limited information about the inside of the human body. With the introduction of MRI, tissues could be evaluated based on many more different characteristics, providing a wealth of information for sharper diagnoses," Van Buchem explains. "It has become an indispensable device for patient care."

Simpel isn't always easy

About 40 years ago, one of the first MRI scanners in the Netherlands was installed at the LUMC. To this day, the LUMC continues to work on improving this technology, and Andrew Webb's group is also involved in this effort. "On the one hand, we are working on the latest technologies, while the other half of my team is working on inexpensive, simple techniques," says Webb. But that too is innovation. "Making things simple is incredibly difficult," he concludes.

This article was previously published on the LUMC website.

In Nature, Webb, together with Johnes Obungoloch of Mbarara University of Science and Technology, describes five steps to make MRI scanners more affordable to the world.