As part of its integrated Smart Imaging Circuit (iSIC) initiative aimed at building intraoperative imaging capabilities required for advanced surgical procedures, the Kyoto University Hospital has installed a 3-Tesla high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system in one of its operating rooms, becoming the first medical institution in Japan to host such a facility.
More and more high-risk procedures involving advanced technologies and skills are being performed in the treatment of conditions relating to the brain, spine, head, and neck. MRI, which offers high contrast resolution and can produce various types of images, can contribute significantly to the precision and safety of such procedures if used for real-time monitoring during surgery. Intraoperative MRI (iMRI) is already being performed at some Japanese hospitals using low-field scanners. Overseas, some medical facilities have recently introduced higher-field MRI systems with a strength of 3 Tesla into their operating rooms, resulting in improved surgical precision and advanced procedures that cannot be performed with low-field devices. Due to concerns about the risks associated with strong magnetic fields generated by MRI machines, Japan had not yet installed such equipment. However, 3-Tesla MRI is now widely viewed as the standard for diagnostic and functional brain imaging, and recognized as a powerful tool for assisting surgical operations.
The University Hospital's newly installed 3-Tesla MRI system provides timely pre-, intra-, and postoperative imaging in the operating room to support high-precision surgery. It works in conjunction with the latest-model navigation system, which provides dynamic 3D reconstruction of the MR images taken to produce 3D pictures of target organs in real time. At the University Hospital, these systems will be used for procedures involving high-field imaging techniques, such as functional imaging (brain mapping), MR spectroscopy ( in vivo molecular imaging), and tractography (imaging of neural tracts).
The Kyoto University Hospital aims to utilize its new MRI system in combination with the next-generation hybrid operating room, which has been in use since 2013, and a mobile computed tomography (CT) system to be introduced in the near future, to achieve functional improvement and functional preservation in patients with difficult-to-treat conditions while easing the burden involved in the procedures performed.
The operating room equipped with the high-field 3-Tesla MRI system
