GE Healthcare scored an FDA clearance for MRI software that it says can produce better image quality while providing patients a quicker trip inside the scanner.
The agency’s green light expands the company’s AIR Recon DL programs from 2D to 3D imaging sequences, eliminating the need to take multiple 2D scans to reach a diagnosis in certain cases. The deep-learning powered software covers nearly all clinical MRI procedures and spans all parts of the body, GE said in a press release.
In addition, AIR Recon DL is now compatible with the PROPELLER scanning technique, which takes overlapping, parallel images that makes it easier to image areas of the body that typically move during the procedure, without having to repeat the process.
This includes getting pictures of organs such as beating hearts and breathing lungs, as well as with pediatric, neurodegenerative, geriatric or claustrophobic patients who may have difficulty remaining still during a scan.
GE said that, as of this month, at least 3.5 million patients worldwide have been scanned using AIR Recon DL, while a study of its use with 3D and PROPELLER sequences showed reductions in exam times by as much as 50%.
The software will be available on new GE MRI scanners and as a digital upgrade for “the vast majority” of installed 1.5T and 3.0T systems, according to the release.