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GE Healthcare, a Boston-based premier digital industrial company, started working with Stanford physicians on next generation MRI technology after recognizing limitations when using current MRI scanners.  The goal is to better diagnose people with heart disease. Much like watching a 3D motion picture, the new VioWorks exams show a patient’s heart beating as a 3D image. Even more, the image can be rotated and viewed from any angle.

WHO’S INVOLVED?

• GE Healthcare and Stanford University Physicians began collaborations more than 5 years ago.
• Until now, the next gen scans have only been used by Stanford and nine other medical research facilities.
• San Francisco startup, Arterys, joined the effort aiding with the three-dimensional technology.

WHAT’S CHANGED IN THE TECH?

• VioWorks MRI scans save time. Current scans take up to 90 minutes. ViosWorks exams can take as little as 30 minutes.
• The scans capture as much as 5 gigabytes of data, 50 times more than a conventional MRI scan.
• The scan captures 3D data of the cardiovascular structure AND the flow of blood, known as 4D flow.

As of now the price for this new technology has not been disclosed but has been described as “cost-effective”. This is just the beginning when it comes to 3D technology in the medical field. Both Arterys and GE Healthcare already plan to take this technology and apply it beyond heart disease. Customizing MRI Scanners could provide valuable images of the brain and provide diagnostic insights to the treatment of diseases, cancer and multiple sclerosis.

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