Open-source 3D-printed portable MRI machine built for under $70k

Open-source 3D-printed portable MRI machine built for under $70k(tomshardware.com)

11 points by sbulaev 2 hours ago | 2 comments

> However, this portable device, which has a 3D-printed core, has a limited field strength of just 50mT (compared to the 1.5T to 3T used by full-sized units).

So anywhere from 1/30 to 1/60 the utility, for 1/15th the price.

The expensive parts of owning and operating MRI machines are not anything that 3d printing makes cheaper.

R_Man77 1 hour ago | |

Unfortunately the utility of MRIs (for human diagnostic purposes) does not scale linearly with power at least on the lower end. You need a certain resolution to reach a level of confidence to make a diagnosis and act upon it.

When radiologists or neurologists who are used to looking at slices from 3T machines have to look at lower quality images you can hear a few grumbles about how it would increase their diagnostic certainty about what they are looking at if they had just another slice or 2.

Still a very cool project though!