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Scientists Develop SORDINO Technique to Make MRI Scans Quieter
MRI machines can be very loud while they take pictures of the brain.
The noise can make people or animals feel stressed or move around.
Moving makes it harder for scientists to measure brain activity accurately.
Researchers at the University of North Carolina created a technique called SORDINO to make functional MRI scans quieter.
It works by keeping the scanner’s magnetic gradient strength steady instead of switching it repeatedly.
In tests with awake mice, the technique reduced noise, interference and stress-related hormones.
It also created images with less distortion.
The quieter scans helped researchers use MRI together with calcium imaging, which measures activity in groups of brain cells.
Scientists hope the method may eventually help improve MRI scans in humans.
Researchers at the University of North Carolina developed SORDINO, a quieter functional MRI technique.
The method keeps total magnetic gradient amplitude steady instead of repeatedly switching it.
Tests in awake mice found reduced acoustic noise, electromagnetic interference and stress-related hormones.
SORDINO produced less-distorted images and made it easier to combine fMRI with calcium imaging.
The technique was described in Nature Neuroscience on 9 September and received a United States patent in 2024.
- Who
- Researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, led by senior author Yen-Yu Ian Shih.
- What
- They developed SORDINO, a quieter functional magnetic resonance imaging technique that also reduces interference and image distortion.
- Where
- The research was conducted at the University of North Carolina, including tests in awake mice.
- When
- The study was published on 9 September; the method received a United States patent in 2024.
- Why
- To reduce scanner noise, stress, movement and electromagnetic interference that can complicate brain-activity measurements.
Key facts
- Technique
- SORDINO, short for Steady-state On-the-Ramp Detection of Induction-decay with oversampling
- Study publication
- Nature Neuroscience, 9 September
- Research setting
- Experiments comparing SORDINO with conventional fMRI in awake mice
- Noise reduction
- The technique reduced acoustic noise during scanning
- Other effects
- Researchers reported lower electromagnetic interference, stress-related hormones and image distortion
- Combined imaging
- SORDINO helped researchers combine fMRI with calcium imaging
- Patent
- The researchers received a United States patent for SORDINO in 2024
Quotes
Yen-Yu Ian Shih
Professor of neurology and associate director of the UNC Biomedical Research Imaging Center, and the study’s senior author
“SORDINO is something we now use regularly in our lab for a variety of neuroscience research projects. It has really simplified our day-to-day fMRI experiments. We hope SORDINO will help other researchers overcome some of the technical barriers that have long complicated fMRI studies and eventually bring similar advances to human MRI.”
theprint.in
Sources
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