Advantages Offset High Costs of MRI

Because of the excessive purchase and installation costs of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners, both patients and clinicians are reluctant to invest in them--unless they are assured of investment or procedural expenditure returns. However, MRI scans' compelling benefits of non-invasiveness and elimination of harmful ionized radiation are helping them to be successful in the commercial market.

MRI scans provide images of any area of the body, in any plane, and provide more detailed information than x-rays or computed tomography (CT) scans can. Furthermore, the MRI contrast agents used for image enhancement have very low occurrence of side effects.

"As the mid- and high-field scanners experience a higher adoption rate, sales in low-field scanners are certainly dipping,” said Sangeetha Prabakar, a research analyst from Frost & Sullivan (Palo Alto, CA, USA), an international growth consultancy company.

However, low-field scanners are not expected to entirely fade away because customers and clinics that search for more inexpensive imaging modalities will still provide a vigorous and stable market for them. Once market obstacles of tight research budgets, instrument intricacy, and high costs of MRI scans are resolved, healthcare units are expected to increase acceptance of these systems.

Apart from market barriers, the MRI industry will also have to find solutions to technical difficulties including scanning of people wearing pacemakers, orthopedic hardware (screws, plates, artificial joints), aneurysm clips, or dental implants. These devices cause severe artifacts while imaging, thus compromising the accuracy of the image. These technical challenges are currently being addressed by many technology developers striving to manufacture pacemakers, metallic implants, and aneurysm clips that are MRI- compatible.

Because many technology developers have started to take to the concept of open MRI with higher field strength, clinicians have been able to perform faster, trouble-free scans that also provide better image quality and frequently, higher accuracy. This type of technology advance in medical imaging benefits both patients and clinicians.

With technology developers researching many new applications, particularly those involving cardiac and neuroimaging applications, it is foreseeable that MRI would evolve into a highly advanced medical imaging tool. Some of the improvements made to the technology have further enhanced the technology and many applications have been implemented in these systems.




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