Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2021 Oct 29:12:765412.
doi: 10.3389/fneur.2021.765412. eCollection 2021.

Case Report: Preliminary Images From an Electromagnetic Portable Brain Scanner for Diagnosis and Monitoring of Acute Stroke

David Cook  1 , Helen Brown  2 , Isuravi Widanapathirana  2 , Darshan Shah  2 , James Walsham  1 , Adnan Trakic  3 , Guohun Zhu  3 , Ali Zamani  3 , Lei Guo  3 , Aida Brankovic  3 , Ahmed Al-Saffar  3 , Anthony Stancombe  3 , Alina Bialkowski  3 , Phong Nguyen  3 , Konstanty Bialkowski  3 , Stuart Crozier  3 , Amin Abbosh  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Case Report: Preliminary Images From an Electromagnetic Portable Brain Scanner for Diagnosis and Monitoring of Acute Stroke

David Cook et al. Front Neurol. .

Abstract

Introduction: Electromagnetic imaging is an emerging technology which promises to provide a mobile, and rapid neuroimaging modality for pre-hospital and bedside evaluation of stroke patients based on the dielectric properties of the tissue. It is now possible due to technological advancements in materials, antennae design and manufacture, rapid portable computing power and network analyses and development of processing algorithms for image reconstruction. The purpose of this report is to introduce images from a novel, portable electromagnetic scanner being trialed for bedside and mobile imaging of ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke. Methods: A prospective convenience study enrolled patients (January 2020 to August 2020) with known stroke to have brain electromagnetic imaging, in addition to usual imaging and medical care. The images are obtained by processing signals from encircling transceiver antennae which emit and detect low energy signals in the microwave frequency spectrum between 0.5 and 2.0 GHz. The purpose of the study was to refine the imaging algorithms. Results: Examples are presented of haemorrhagic and ischaemic stroke and comparison is made with CT, perfusion and MRI T2 FAIR sequence images. Conclusion: Due to speed of imaging, size and mobility of the device and negligible environmental risks, development of electromagnetic scanning scanner provides a promising additional modality for mobile and bedside neuroimaging.

Keywords: electromagnetic neuroimaging; electromagnetic stroke imaging; mobile brain scanner; mobile neuroimaging; mobile stroke imaging.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

AA, KB, ABi, SC, LG, PN, AZ, and GZ are authors of relevant patents. SC, KB, DC, and JW have non-executive or advisory positions with EMVision. SC, DC, DS, and JW are shareholders in EMVision. AA-S, LG, PN, AS, IW, AZ, and GZ are part funded by EMVision. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The research was conducted to refine and develop the imaging technology. The authors declare that this study received funding from EMVision, Sydney, with involvement in the design, manufacture and supply of the device, the study design and analysis of the data.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Clinical prototype electromagnetic head scanner.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Permittivity map showing anatomical structures.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A–D) 63yo patient with an ischemic stroke right middle cerebral artery distribution. (A) 63yo patient with an ischemic stroke right middle cerebral artery distribution. CT 3 hrs after onset of left hand weakness. The plain CT shows no acute abnormality; however, the cerebral blood flow perfusion scan (units ml/100 ml/minute cerebral blood flow for perfusion colormap) shows decreased blood flow in right middle lobe. (B) 63yo patient with an ischemic stroke right middle cerebral artery distribution. MRI T2 FLAIR sequence shows small area of diffusion restriction at 24 h after symptom onset, and after almost complete resolution of symptoms. (C) 63yo patient with an ischemic stroke right middle cerebral artery distribution. Dielectric permittivity map from an electromagnetic scan performed at 21 h after symptom onset. (D) 63yo patient with an ischemic stroke right middle cerebral artery distribution. Examples of processing algorithm using radar-based frequency domain and time domain signal analysis, signal asymmetry, tomography and direct mapping. The algorithm outputs are fused into a representative image for localization. An artificial intelligence algorithm classifies haemorrhagic stroke with a red color code, while ischaemic stroke is color-coded as blue, and this is overlaid on a greyscale permittivity map.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A–C) 51yo patient with a hemorrhagic stroke, right basal ganglia. (A) 51yo patient with a hemorrhagic stroke, right basal ganglia. Non-contrast CT performed 2 hrs after onset of left paresis and facial droop, showing acute hemorrhage. (B) 51yo patient with a hemorrhagic stroke, right basal ganglia. Dielectric permittivity map from an electromagnetic scan performed 7 h after symptom onset. (C) 51yo patient with a hemorrhagic stroke, right basal ganglia. Examples of processing algorithm using radar-based frequency domain and time domain signal analysis, signal asymmetry, tomography and direct mapping. The algorithm outputs are fused into a representative image for localization. An artificial intelligence algorithm classifies haemorrhagic stroke with a red color code, while ischaemic stroke is color-coded as blue, and this is overlaid on a greyscale permittivity map.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Brankovic A, Zamani A, Trakic A, Bialkowski K, Mohammed B, Cook D, et al. . Unsupervised algorithm for brain anomalies localization in electromagnetic imaging. IEEE Trans Comput Imaging. (2020) 6:1595–606. 10.1109/TCI.2020.3041922 - DOI
    1. Trakic A, Brankovic A, Zamani A, Nguyen-Trong N, Mohammed B, Stancombe A, et al. . Expedited Stroke Imaging With Electromagnetic Polar Sensitivity Encoding. IEEE Trans Antennas Propag. (2020) 68:8072–81. 10.1109/TAP.2020.2996810 - DOI
    1. Zhu G, Bialkowski A, Guo L, Mohammed B, Abbosh A. Stroke classification in simulated electromagnetic imaging using graph approaches. IEEE J. Electromagn. RF Microw. Med. Biol. (2021) 5:46–53. 10.1109/JERM.2020.2995329 - DOI
    1. Zerna C, Thomalla G, Campbell BCV, Rha J-H, Hill MD. Current practice and future directions in the diagnosis and acute treatment of ischaemic stroke. Lancet. (2018) 392:1247–56. 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31874-9 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Emberson J, Lees KR, Lyden P, Blackwell L, Albers G, Bluhmki E, et al. . Effect of treatment delay, age, and stroke severity on the effects of intravenous thrombolysis with alteplase for acute ischaemic stroke: a meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomised trials. Lancet. (2014) 384:1929–35. 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60584-5 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources