Fast MRI Proven Effective in Pediatric Brain Injury Diagnosis

Fast MRI Proven Effective in Pediatric Brain Injury Diagnosis

Recently, a research paper was published in the journal of Pediatrics discussing the role of Fast MRI in the diagnosis of a brain injury. A Fast MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is a slightly different imaging scan that is shorter than a typical MRI. However, it produces a lower level of detail. Currently, when a child is taken to an emergency department for the treatment of a head injury, the typical imaging scan ordered is a CT scan. This scan has numerous benefits, including a reasonably high level of detail in a quick amount of time. This makes it suitable for emergency use.

On the other hand, a CT scan also uses a tremendous amount of radiation. When children are exposed to this type of radiation, it increases their risk of cancer down the road. If there is a way to spare a child from this radiation, then this method should be explored. This is the goal of Fast MRI, an imaging method that may be useful for diagnosing a pediatric brain injury.

The Study on Fast MRI in Children

The medical researchers conducted a study on young children who were taken to an emergency department due to concerns related to a head injury. These children received both a Fast MRI scan and a CT scan during emergency treatment. While this might seem like a double scan, a Fast MRI does not require any use of radiation. After this, the researchers compared the results of the Fast MRI to the CT scan.

The researchers examined close to 300 children. The average time for a CT scan was less than a minute. The Fast MRI scan took, on average, about six minutes to complete. This is much shorter than the time for a typical MRI scan. The CT scan showed a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in 111 children. In contrast, the MRI scan picked up a TBI in 103 children. The MRI did miss two children who had a brain bleed and six children with a skull fracture.

Interpreting the Results

Looking at the numbers from the study, the CT scan did perform slightly better than the MRI. The MRI scan missed about 7 percent of the children with a TBI and did take about five minutes longer to complete. On the other hand, the magnetic resonance scan also detected almost all of the brain injuries while sparing young children from massive exposure to radiation.

The researchers concluded that this type of MRI can play a useful role in diagnosing stable children who are hospitalized for blunt force trauma to the head. When compared to a CT scan, the MRI did perform reasonably well. If children are unstable or are showing signs of an obvious TBI, a CT scan might be needed as a follow-up to the Fast MRI to ensure a brain injury is not missed.

Fresno Brain Injury Lawyer

I’m Ed Smith, a Fresno Brain Injury Lawyer. Suffering severe trauma to the head may require imaging scans to diagnose the injury. For children, it is essential to have the proper imaging scans taken to avoid unnecessary exposure to radiation whenever possible. If your child has suffered a brain injury due to the negligence of another person or entity, please contact me today at (559) 377-7676 or (800) 404-5400 for free, friendly legal advice.