{"id":579759,"date":"2026-08-25T10:34:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T10:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/579759\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T10:34:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T10:34:11","slug":"new-usc-3d-printed-tech-brings-clearer-mri-images-for-tiny-hearts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/579759\/","title":{"rendered":"New USC 3D-printed tech brings clearer MRI images for tiny hearts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"abstract<\/a>Image: \u00a9 amtitus| iStock
\n Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have developed a 3D-printed, patient-tailored clearer MRI sensor that can be manufactured in minutes for a fraction of traditional costs<\/p>\n

The flexible technology addresses longstanding challenges in pediatric imaging<\/a> by providing significantly clearer views of small, moving organs in infants and children.<\/p>\n

Overcoming fit and cost constraints in pediatric imaging<\/p>\n

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) relies on radiofrequency coils, devices that act as antennas to capture electromagnetic signals from inside the body. For optimal image resolution, these coils must fit tightly against the body part being scanned.<\/p>\n

Standard commercial coils are sized for adults, leaving spatial gaps when used on infants or young children that degrade signal quality. While custom-fitted pediatric coils exist, they traditionally take months or years to fabricate and cost thousands of dollars, a major limitation given how rapidly pediatric patients outgrow medical equipment.<\/p>\n

To bridge this gap, an interdisciplinary team from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, the USC Michelson Centre for Convergent Bioscience, and Children\u2019s Hospital Los Angeles developed a method to custom-design and 3D-print<\/a> flexible MRI coils in under 10 minutes for approximately $30 each.<\/p>\n

3D Printing and material innovation<\/p>\n

Led by Yasser Khan, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and biomedical engineering, the research team spent three years engineering the flexible sensors.<\/p>\n

The manufacturing process uses specialised 3D printers to deposit conductive silver ink onto a thermoplastic elastomer, a soft, stretchable substrate engineered to mirror the mechanical properties of human skin.<\/p>\n

Key technical specifications and capabilities include:<\/p>\n

Conformal flexibility:<\/p>\n

The thermoplastic material stretches between 5% and 10%, enabling the coil to bend and contour tightly to a child\u2019s body without leaving air gaps.<\/p>\n

Enhanced signal quality:<\/p>\n

In comparative testing, the custom 3D-printed<\/a> coils generated approximately four times greater image contrast than standard commercial adult coils.<\/p>\n

Rapid prototyping:<\/p>\n

Because designs are fully digital, clinicians can adjust coil dimensions on a computer and print an individualised sensor tailored to a patient\u2019s current growth stage in minutes.<\/p>\n

Real-time dynamic imaging and clinical applications<\/p>\n

The team paired the 3D-printed coils with advanced low-field (0.55 T) dynamic MRI technology<\/a> developed at USC\u2019s Dynamic Imaging Science Centre (DISC), led by Professor Krishna Shrinivas Nayak.<\/p>\n

Working alongside Dr John Wood, director of cardiovascular MRI at Children\u2019s Hospital Los Angeles, the researchers validated the coils\u2019 ability to capture detailed anatomy in motion, such as a rapidly beating pediatric or fetal heart and moving joints.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Image: \u00a9 amtitus| iStock Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have developed a 3D-printed, patient-tailored clearer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":579760,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[44181,65588,134,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-579759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-child-health","tag-digital-health","tag-health","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}