I-Corps: Novel applicator for Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Award ID: 1823712

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to improve patient care, decrease patient discomfort and infection, decrease user discomfort, and decrease prevalence of disease within a given population due to early detection. Adoption of this technology would provide broader implications for both administrative and financial operational goals. Further, using this technology would reduce resources used within diagnostic imaging and help reduce preparation time for pelvic MRI procedures and this cannot be over emphasized. Decreased time translates to increased throughput by increasing available imaging slots for additional MR examinations and leading to higher revenue capture. This I-Corps project will explore the commercial potential for a novel technology to deliver positive contrast. This would be a beneficial introduction to the field of diagnostic imaging. The device would be able to increase the diagnostic ability of staging examinations (increased sensitivity and accuracy) for detection of primary and/or metastatic pelvic tumors. This project will lead to a better understanding of current practices and see how this product can be incorporated to enhance clinical operations. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Program Director: Ruth Shuman