Curbside MRI: Experts are developing system small enough to fit in a pickup

University of Minnesota team develops compact portable MRI. Michael Garwood, second from right, and collaborators at the University of Minnesota created a mobile MRI prototype that could provide diagnostic imaging to rural and underserved populations. Image courtesy of the University of Minnesota.

Michael Garwood, second from right, and collaborators at the University of Minnesota created a mobile MRI prototype that could provide diagnostic imaging to rural and underserved populations. Image courtesy of the University of Minnesota.

Someday, getting an MRI exam could be as simple as having food delivered to your door—at least that is the hope of a group of experts at the University of Minnesota who are working on a compact system said to be small enough to sit in the bed of a truck.