First Experience with Neonatal Examinations with the Use of MR-Compatible Incubator

Abstract

SummaryBackgroundSince 2003, very few publications have described brain examinations using neonatal MR-compatible incubator (INC). The authors present their first experience in these examinations, not limited to brain scans, with the use of an incubator equipped not only with head coil, but also with a coil designed for examinations of the spinal canal and spinal cord as well as the whole body, at the Institute of Mother and Child in Warsaw.Material/MethodsExaminations were performed in 27 newborns (12 girls, 15 boys). Most of the neonates were prematurely born: 19 (70.4%) were born at gestational age of 23–37 weeks, mean of 30 weeks. They were examined at the corrected age of 26 weeks–1 month, mean of 36 weeks. Body weight of the newborns on the day of the study was 600–4,300 g, mean of 2,654 g. The study was performed with a GE Signa HDxT 1.5 T system with the use of a Nomag IC 1.5 incubator by Lammers Medical Technology Co., equipped with three coils: an eight-channel, phased-array head coil and a twelve-channel phased-array coil for the whole body, consisting of an eight-channel coil integrated in the incubator and a separate four-channel surface coil.ResultsOf the 27 children, 25 (92.6%) required a brain scan. Two children (7.4%) were referred to MRI for assessment of the spinal canal and the abdomen. We compared the results of transfontanelle ultrasound and MRI scans in 21 children. MRI provided significantly more diagnostic information in 18 cases (85.7%); in 3 cases (14.3%), no additional knowledge about the pathology was provided by the exam.ConclusionsThe MR-compatible incubator increases the availability of MRI to newborns, especially premature newborns and those with low and extremely low body weight, for whom MR examinations are necessary to determine the extent of changes, not limited to the central nervous system, as well as to establish prognosis. Dedicated neonatal coils integrated with the incubator permit more accurate diagnosis than the previously used adult coils.

The Assessment of the Usefulness of Prenatal Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Diagnosis of Central Nervous System Defects

“…Similarly in 2011, on a small group of fetuses, pMRI and nMRI were compared in imaging brain tumors, showing similar efficacy. Performing MRI examination in a fetus is easier and safer than in a newborn [ 15 , 16 ]. Miller based the qualification for neurosurgery on pMRI results with good outcomes [ 17 ].…”

Magnetic resonance imaging of neonates in the magnetic resonance compatible incubator

“…Last year, two neonatal centers in Poland received the first two incubators compatible with MRI scanners (called the MR compatible incubator, INC ). The first radiological only experience with one of these incubators at the Institute of Mother and Child (IMiD) in Warsaw has already been described [ 4 ], and after more research the authors present neonatal examinations in the INC from the viewpoint of not only a radiologist, but also a neonatologist, anesthesiologist and pediatric neurologist.…”