Magnetic resonance imaging compatible neonate incubator

An incubator for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of premature and full-term infants was designed and constructed. The device is an extensively modified MRI system table that has a permanently attached incubator housing, self-contained power supply, and full patient monitoring capability. A custom eight-element birdcage coil within the incubator slides over the infant and provides high sensitivity for MRI. The incubator provides all the temperature control and patient monitoring found in conventional neonatal intensive care incubators, but in an MRI-compatible fashion. The table can operate for at least three hours on a single battery charge. It is believed that this table design will enable routine MRI scanning of newborn infants requiring extensive monitoring of vital signs and/or temperature regulation. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Concepts in Magnetic Resonance (Magn Reson Engineering) 15: 117–128, 2002