The joint results of a strategic agreement between Siemens Healthineers and the U.S.-based company KinetiCor to co-develop technologies for patient monitoring and for correction of patient motion in MRI exams have now been presented. The collaboration between the companies involves the joint development of an MRI in-bore camera system, known as the Kinetic Sensor, which is now an integral part and one of the key features of Siemens Healthineers BioMatrix technology and of the new 1.5 Tesla MRI Magnetom Sola scanner and of the 3T Magnetom Vida system from Siemens. The in-bore, real-time patient viewing system, allows close patient monitoring and prospective motion correction for neurological MRI exams.
A successful MRI exam requires a patient to stay still. Patient motion, however, can result in non-diagnostic exams, requiring rescans or in the worst case having to reschedule the exam. For certain patients, such as young children and adults who have trouble staying still due to pain, trauma and/or cognitive difficulties, sedation may be required for a successful MRI exam. For these reasons, patient motion is a known and costly factor in MRI. The new in-bore camera system helps to significantly reduce motion-related artifacts in MR imaging, enabling diagnostic imaging in the presence of motion, and may help reduce the need for sedation for children and adults who are less able to stay still in the MRI scanner.
The sensor employs a 4-camera system which tracks every movement of the patient’s head in the scanner. The camera has an ultra-slim profile, shaped to the bore of the Magnetom Sola and Magnetom Vida MRI systems. Real-time motion information from KinetiCor’s camera, used in combination with Siemens MR pulse sequences with integrated prospective motion correction technologies, enables the imaging to continually adapt to the patient’s movements. The resulting product, the new BioMatrix Kinetic Sensor on the latest scanner generation of Siemens Healthineers, helps deliver standardized, high-quality MRI examinations that support clinical users on their way to delivering precision medicine.
Jeffrey Yu, MD, Chief Executive Officer at KinetiCor, expressed excitement about the strategic agreement with Siemens Healthineers and what this will mean for the future of MR imaging. “KinetiCor is delighted with the successful collaboration with Siemens Healthineers as one of the leading MR manufacturers. Together, we will jointly bring the first real-time patient monitoring and advanced prospective motion correction system to the market. The KinetiCor system increases diagnostic quality, is able to reduce rescans, and to improve patient comfort while improving workflow efficiency and patient throughput,” he concluded.
“Working closely with our valued partners, we were once again able to demonstrate our role as a leading innovator in the field of magnetic resonance imaging,” stated Dr. Christoph Zindel, Head of Magnetic Resonance Imaging at Siemens Healthineers. “With our BioMatrix technology our customers are able to decrease rescans and to cut healthcare costs by reducing unwarranted variations,”
Siemens Healthineers
Erlangen, Germany