Patent Application
20150320334
The present disclosure relates generally to a magnetic resonance imaging (“MRI”), and more specifically, to exemplary embodiments of exemplary systems, methods, computer-accessible mediums and apparatus for improving patient compliance during MRI examinations using, for example, a scanner-controlled adjustment of lighting.
Medical examinations using MRI can be highly sensitive to motion, and can benefit from strict immobility of the patient during the data acquisition. However, in clinical practice, sufficient suppression of movements may not typically be achieved, which can lead to severe motion artifacts in the obtained images. Often, the images can be rendered completely non-diagnostic. In these cases, examinations need to be repeated, potentially on a different day if an intravenous contrast agent has already been injected into the patient. Non-diagnostic examinations due to motion artifacts, therefore, can result in high costs, and can potentially lead to clinical misinterpretation if a scan cannot be repeated, and/or if important pathologic structures may not be visible on the motion-affected images. Overall, the high sensitivity of MRI to motion has resulted in limited acceptance of MRI as imaging modality of choice for certain clinical indications, including abdominal examinations or pediatric examinations, and has led to the preference of CT imaging for many applications
In most clinical MRI examination protocols, the patient is instructed, prior to the examination, to stop moving from the moment when the patient table is positioned in the center of the MRI magnet. Some MRI systems can facilitate the technicians to communicate with the patient during scan pauses using an intercom system (e.g., via earphones). Thus, it can be possible to remind the patient, in-between the scans, to suppress their movement. For specific examinations, such as abdominal examinations or cardiac examinations, it can be beneficial to suspend respiration during multiple scan periods of typically 15-20 seconds (e.g., breath-hold scans). For these examinations, the technicians, using the intercom, instruct the patient, prior to the data acquisition, to hold their breath, with a series of breath-hold commands, for example, “breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, stop breathing”.
Despite these existing measures to achieve patient compliance, patient motion remains a major problem in routine practice, and the volume of motion-affected studies with compromised diagnostic quality is high. Several reasons for this include, for example:
Thus, it may be beneficial to provide an exemplary system, method, computer-accessible medium and apparatus that can facilitate easy communication with patients during an MRI scan, and which can overcome at least some of the deficiencies described herein above.
These and other objects of the present disclosure can be achieved by provision of an exemplary system, method, computer-accessible medium and apparatus for alerting a patient of a condition(s) during an MRI scan procedure(s), which can include, for example receiving information related to the condition(s), and controlling an intensity of a light source(s) located near or on an MRI scanner based on the condition(s). The light source(s) can include a light-emitting diode, which can be a white LED and/or a rainbow LED. The color of the rainbow LED can be changed based on the condition(s). The light source(s) can be located inside or outside a bore of the MRI scanner.
In certain exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the condition(s) can include (i) a start of the MRI scan(s), (ii) an end of the MRI scan(s), (iii) an indication that the patient being scanned should not move, (iv) an indication that the patient being scanned can move, (v) an indication that the patient being scanned should hold their breath, (vi) an indication that the patient being scanned can release their breath, or (vii) an indication that a table of the MRI scanner is about to move. The light source(s) can include a plurality (e.g., at least four) light sources, such as, e.g., (i) a first light source configured to output a color red, (ii) a second light source configured to output a color green, (iii) a third light source configured to output a color yellow, and/or (iv) a fourth light source configured to output a color blue.
In another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is an apparatus for alerting a patient of a condition(s) of an MRI scan(s), which can include for example, an MRI scanner arrangement performing the MRI scan, and a light source(s) coupled to the MRI scanner arrangement, which is configured to alert the patient of the condition(s).
These and other objects, features and advantages of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, when taken in conjunction with the appended claims.
Further objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying Figure(s) showing illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure, in which:
Throughout the drawing(s), the same reference numerals and characters, unless otherwise stated, are used to denote like features, elements, components or portions of the illustrated embodiments. Moreover, while the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the figures, it is done so in connection with the illustrative embodiments and is not limited by the particular embodiments illustrated in the figures and the appended claims.
Accordingly, an exemplary system, method, computer-accessible medium and apparatus can be provided that can improve patient compliance during MRI scans and, thus, can lead to an increase in the reliability of MRI examinations by automatically adjusting the lighting (e.g., ambient lighting) in or around the MRI scanner depending on the current examination step, and depending on whether patient compliance is needed or not. Many MRI scanners can be equipped with ambient lighting of the magnet bore adjacent to the patient table. The ambient lighting can often be realized using white light-emitting diodes (“LEDs”), which can be switched ON and OFF, or switched to different brightness levels (e.g., OFF, Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, etc.) using a physical control at the MRI scanner, or using the software that controls the MRI system.
The white LEDs can be replaced by one or more color LEDs with freely-adjustable colors (e.g., a Rainbow LED, a color-changing LED or a color-adjustable LED), which can be controlled by the software of the MRI system, or by the technician. For example, a single LED can be used, which can change color depending on the notification. This hardware modification can result in, for example, only minimal additional costs, as these components can frequently be used in consumer electronics, and it can be expected that these components can be easily integrated into MRI systems. Additional ambient-lighting LEDs can be installed inside or outside the magnet bore to achieve sufficient brightness and visibility of the color for different patient positions (e.g., feet first, head down, etc.).
The light can be configured to be visible to the patient during the scan. For example, the light can be located inside the bore of the MRI machine or outside the bore of the MRI machine (e.g., attached to the MRI machine or detached from the MRI machine). The light can also be placed on a wall near the patient or on the ceiling. Placement of the light can be dependent on the ability of the patient to see the light while the patient is inside of the MRI machine (e.g., inside of the bore of the MRI machine).
The color of the ambient lighting can be changed whenever the examination step changes, or slightly before a change of the examination step, according to a fixed color scheme. For example, the lighting can be switched to (a) GREEN if no scan is performed and the patient can move, (b) YELLOW if a scan is about to be started within the next few seconds (e.g., within 2 seconds), and (c) RED if data is being acquired and the patient must not move. The adjustment of the color and brightness can be performed automatically by the MRI software, and/or may not need interaction by the technician. The lighting during breath-hold scans can additionally be animated (e.g., BLINKING) to urge the patient to suppress respiration. Furthermore, the lighting during the breath-hold-command phase can be animated (e.g., change of color or blinking frequency) to reflect the remaining time until the start of the data acquisition.
The color of the ambient lightning can additionally be changed, for example, to a BLUE color, if the patient table is about to be moved. The brightness of the lightning can additionally be increased to a higher level whenever the door of the examination room is about to be opened, in order to make the patient aware that the technician is coming into the examination room. The exemplary lighting can be changed depending on the level of patient activity during data acquisition. For example, if an imaging sequence with integrated motion assessment detects significant patient activity, the lighting can be animated (e.g., BLINKING) to urge the patient to stop the movement. An additional lighting color can be used during the acquisition of adjustment data (e.g., shimming and/or frequency adjustment), where suppression of motion can be beneficial, but not mandatory. To achieve compliance of patients unable to speak the same language as the technician, instruction cards in different languages can be provided that can explain the meaning of the different lighting colors, and can describe what the patient has to do during the individual phases of the MRI procedure.
In a further exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
As shown in
Further, the exemplary processing arrangement 502 can be provided with or include an input/output arrangement 514, which can include, for example a wired network, a wireless network, the internet, an intranet, a data collection probe, a sensor, etc. As shown in
The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the disclosure. Various modifications and alterations to the described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise numerous systems, arrangements, and procedures which, although not explicitly shown or described herein, embody the principles of the disclosure and can be thus within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Various different exemplary embodiments can be used together with one another, as well as interchangeably therewith, as should be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art. In addition, certain terms used in the present disclosure, including the specification, drawings and claims thereof, can be used synonymously in certain instances, including, but not limited to, for example, data and information. It should be understood that, while these words, and/or other words that can be synonymous to one another, can be used synonymously herein, that there can be instances when such words can be intended to not be used synonymously. Further, to the extent that the prior art knowledge has not been explicitly incorporated by reference herein above, it is explicitly incorporated herein in its entirety. All publications referenced are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
This application relates to and claims priority from U.S. Patent Application No. 61/989,021, filed on May 6, 2014, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61989021 | May 2014 | US |
