AI-powered Portable MRI Abnormality Detection

AI-powered Portable MRI Abnormality Detection

This study aims to test a new AI-powered portable MRI scanner that can quickly identify whether a brain scan is normal or abnormal. Currently, standard MRI scans are expensive and have long waiting times. Our goal is to see if a smaller, cheaper, and more accessible MRI scanner-combined with artificial intelligence (AI)-can help doctors identify abnormalities faster and improve patient care.

We will invite patients from King's College Hospital (KCH) who are already having a standard MRI scan. They will be asked to have an extra scan using the portable MRI, which takes about 60 minutes. The AI tool will then analyse these scans and compare its results to those of expert radiologists.

By the end of the study, we hope to prove whether portable MRI with AI can be used in hospitals and GP clinics, making brain scans more accessible, reducing wait times, and helping doctors prioritise urgent cases.

This study is funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and has been approved by UK research ethics committees.

Inclusion Criteria:

Adults ≥18 years old. Undergoing standard brain MRI including T2-weighted sequences.

Exclusion Criteria:

Contraindications to MRI (e.g. pacemaker, pregnancy). Poor quality MRI scans without a neuroradiology report.