At present India depends on 100% import for MRI machines which cost exorbitantly. The Inter-University Accelerator Centre (IUAC) has developed a 1. 5 Tesla (T) superconducting MRI magnet system, which is like the heart of the MRI machine. This will not only make India produce cheaper indigenous MRI machines but also put it in the league of select countries which produce these machines. At present, China is the biggest exporter of MRI machines to India.

The MRI machine is used to take images of any body part for the detection of diseases by providing precise contrast resolution in any imaging direction.

"This is nothing less than India making its own cryogenic engine, or state-of-the-art weaponry. Having our own indigenous MRI machine would not only cut the cost of the equipment but will also provide access to this vital diagnostic technique to those who today cannot afford the same because of its high cost,” said renowned radiologist Padma Shri Dr Harsh Mahajan.

“In India, there are 1.5 MRI machines per million population whereas in developed countries it is more than 10 MRI per million. India needs a large number of MRI machines in the next few years which is only possible through indigenous manufacturing, thereby providing easy and cheaper healthcare access to the people," IUAC director Professor Avinash Chandra Pandey was quoted in a Times of India report as saying.

Pandey said that the horizontal tube in an MRI machine through which the patient enters, known as the bore, contains a strong magnet from front to back.

“The entire system provides an incredibly strong and large, stable magnetic field," he said.

Pandey added that the MRI machines that will be locally produced in India using the IUAC-developed indigenous technology would be much cheaper compared to the imported ones.

"This would also help India export these units to other countries and thereby provide easy and cheaper healthcare access to the people, especially those of the third-world nations,” said Pandey.

The development will also bring down the exorbitant price of the MRI tests, he added.

Pandey informed that a few Indian industries are willing to build commercial magnets using the IUAC-developed technology.

This along with cryogen-free technology and artificial intelligence will lead to lighter and cheaper whole-body scanners which can be mounted on a mobile van for rural healthcare in the future,” he added.

Image courtesy: Times of India