Role of technologies in health innovations

Raimo Sepponen, professorAalto University

Role of technologies in health innovations

• Case: Magnetic resonance imagingInvented by Paul Lauterbur and Peter Mansfield

• Early development stimulated by Raymond Damadian – claimed that malignant tissue may be diagnosed by measuring relaxation time T1

Raymond Damadian's "Apparatus and method for detecting cancer in tissue."

FONAR -MRI

One of the first whole body MR imagesAbout 1978, Fonar-method

The first MR images in Germany

Some early truths about MRI (~1980)

• The highest usable field strength for human studies is about 0.2 T

• MRI will not have any role in routine diagnostics

• Imaging times will always be long due to low S/N

• With MRI any contrast agents will not be needed or can be used

But- magnets got stronger

Optimum field?

• 0,15 T – Hammersmith hospital 1985• 0,35 T – University of San Francisco -1985• 1,5 T – General Electric 1986• 2,0 T – Siemens, Philips 1987• 3, 0 T - 2000• 7,0 T - 2015• 11,5 T - 2020

First image

0,1 T field

0,17 T scanner at HUCS

0,02 T Acutscan0,04 T Magnaview0,1 T Mega40,1 T Merit

0,22 T Proviev

1981

1982

1984

1989

1979

1992

1 Mmk

5 Mmk

10 Mmk

100 Mmk

150 Mmk

OTC NYS250 Mmk

1st Patent

25 Patents

InstruTKKTEKES

InstruAkatemiaHYKS

1st Thesis

2nd Thesis

4 Thesis

Premarketapproval

Open magnet technology – key for the success of MRI-units produced in Finland

Multiple coils and SENSE Technology

MRI Today

• Over 10 000 units world wide, routine clinical use

• Typical fieldstrength 1,5 T , 3,0 T increasing,7,0 T introduced

• Imaging times in the range ms/image• Over 20 different contrast agents available,

more under development

Architecture of human white matter connectivity (Danielle Bassett)

• Not all problems have a technological answer, but when they do, that is the more lasting solution.

• Andy Groveone of the founders of Intel Corporation