Specialized MRI system at Toronto’s SickKids hospital can scan critically ill newborns without leaving NICU

Images of the specialized MRI system being lifted into Toronto's SickKids hospital. (@sickkidstoronto/Instagram)

There’s a new specialized MRI at Toronto’s SickKids hospital for babies like Yalman—a critically ill newborn—where they can get scanned without even having to leave the neonatal intensive care unit.

Yalman, who was born at 38 weeks, was the first-ever ventilated patient in Canada to undergo the new MRI. The downtown Toronto hospital says it took months of planning and training among SickKids’ neonatology, neurology, diagnostic and radiology divisions before they could make this possible—marking a massive achievement, according to the head of the division of neonatology.

“This first-in-Canada NICU MRI is a big achievement,” Dr. Estelle Gauda said in a release issued on Tuesday. “It means babies who are critically ill can get the scans they need right where they are, without us having to transport them to another part of the hospital. This minimizes the time and risks associated with moving these vulnerable patients.”

It also means any newborn or at-risk baby who is too vulnerable to move to a different part of the hospital can get their MRI scans sooner.

Typically, terminally ill newborns treated inside SickKids’ NICU are some of the most medically complex patients across Canada, the paediatric hospital says. In order to better inform a doctor’s clinical decision to treat at-risk babies, MRI scans are vital, SickKids says.

“When babies are born prematurely, they are suddenly no longer in an ideal environment for their development, especially for their growing brains,” Dr. Emily Tam, a neonatal neurologist at SickKids, said in the release.

“Having a specialized neonatal MRI within the NICU at SickKids allows for improved access to imaging for our babies. A better understanding for what patients are experiencing will be transformative in achieving our goal of minimizing brain injuries and improving long-term outcomes.”

Jennifer Bernard, president and CEO of the SickKids Foundation, says it took about a decade for the specialized neonatal MRIs to be possible at the hospital.

“It’s amazing to be able to recognize our Chinese community, who kickstarted the fundraising efforts; the many donors who continued to fundraise tirelessly; and the donors who made the contribution that took us over the top,” Bernard said in the release.

More than $2.7 million was fundraised, the hospital says, which was all needed to purchase this specialized MRI system. In a video shared on Instagram, SickKids showed how the MRI was installed, which involved the temporary removal of some third-floor windows so a crane could lift it inside.

“It is thanks to them that SickKids is the first paediatric hospital in Canada to house an MRI built specifically for very sick, small newborns, located where they need it most,” Bernard said.