Researchers at the University of Tsukuba have devised a portable MRI system that allows athletes to be screened for injuries before they show any symptoms.
As specified in a report from the Imaging Technology News site, the wrist is often under stress for some sports like tennis, and an injury to this part can prevent a sports athlete from joining a competition.
Essentially athletes have a risk of sports injuries, affecting their ability to continue training, not to mention competing.
For injuries like cartilage tears, early detection and treatment are essential for enabling athletes to continue playing sports; a lack of treatment may impact their ability to compete.
A radiologist stands next to a Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI scanner.
Addressing the Issue of Huge and Costly Whole-Body MRI Scanners
Whole-body MRI scanners can detect cartilage injuries. MRI scans of asymptomatic patients have exhibited a high rate of damage to the cartilage. This means that MRI scans can detect injuries before an athlete becomes even aware of them.
When an injury is identified early, treatment can be initiated before the damage turns more problematic. Unfortunately, employing a whole-body MRI scanner, which is huge and costly, is not realistic for screening athletes outside of healthcare backgrounds.
The researchers at the University of Tsukuba devised a portable MRI system explicitly intended for baseball elbow injuries to deal with the issue.
Since the system is portable, explained Professor Yasuhiko Terada, athletes can be screened fast in a remote area, like their practice field.
Eliminating the Need for Hospital Visits for Diagnosis
As a result of the study published in Magnetic Resonance in Medical Sciences, this device can take out the need for players to go to a hospital for diagnosis.
The study authors have improved upon their previously developed device and developed a system to diagnose wrist injuries.
Such improvements comprise an effective protection method for attaining high-quality images and an outlet-free power system; thus, a commercial power supply is unnecessary.
The study investigators, a similar Eurasia Review report specified, employed their MRI scanner at a tennis school, where they captured images of the wrists of tennis players aged eight to 18 years old, both males and females.
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Among the athletes who were screened, many of them were discovered to have cartilage damage, although some of them did not experience other symptoms of an injury.
Early Screening Mechanism Convenient for Athletes
Consequently, this newly-invented device can offer an early screening mechanism that is convenient for athletes and can help prevent further injury or damage.
Professor Terada said that more devices could be invented for other joints in future work, like the ankle or knee.
This newly developed device, owing to its convenience, may result in the development of similar systems to prevent and treat injuries in all types of sports.
Related information about portable MRI scanner is shown on Los Alamos National Lab's YouTube video below:
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