UK-first MRI system to identify, treat and prevent heart risks early

The Royal Brompton Hospital has secured a UK-first MRI system which will enable it to identify new heart risk factors earlier.

The MAGNETOM Cima.X, from Siemens Healthineers, has greater gradient strength and uses diffusion-weighted imaging, which uses the diffusion of water molecules to generate contrast.

This will allow for greater understanding of the heart’s microstructures, and enable radiographers to see how the heart works in three dimensions at a microscopic level, Siemens said. 

Preventing heart attack

The system will help identify new ways to assess the risk of heart attacks, congenital heart disease and cardiomyopathy, helping to prevent heart attacks with earlier treatment.

The team at the Royal Brompton, part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, have already conducted research using diffusion cardiovascular magnetic resonance to reveal how heart cells are arranged.

The hospital was among the first to use electrocardiograms to study the heart, and one of the first to open a cardiac MRI centre around 40 years ago.

(Image: MAGNETOM Cima.X MRI system)

'Jewel in the crown'

Dudley Pennell, director of the Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Unit at Royal Brompton and professor of cardiology at the National Heart and Lung Institute praised the scanner’s capacity.

He said: “This is a real jewel in the crown for the National Heart and Lung Institute, for Royal Brompton, and for Guy’s and St Thomas’. That we are now able to offer our patients five CMR scanners, and conduct 20,000 scans a year across our partnership, is a huge credit to our long partnership with Siemens Healthineers.”

Alistair Piggot, magnetic resonance business manager at Siemens Healthineers, added: “Together with Royal Brompton Hospital we are marking a new chapter in cardiac care and innovation. With unprecedented gradient strength and AI technology, the new system enables us to illuminate pathways to early detection, personalised treatment, and ultimately, the preservation of heart health.”

(Image: Dr Sonia Nielles-Vallespin gives a tour at the celebration of the installation of the MAGNETOM Cima.X from Siemens Healthineers in the centre of diagnostic expertise at Royal Brompton Hospital)