Feasibility, image quality, and analytic usability of mobile 64 mT ultra-low-field MRI for infant brain imaging at 3 and 12 months in Southern Malawi

Vokhiwa, Maclean, Chetcuti, Karen, Lange, Frederik, Bourke, Niall J., Randall, Louise, Greenstein, Steven, Seal, Marc, Beare, Richard, Hussain, Adam, Rao, Padma, Ljungberg, Emil, Padormo, Francesco, Rogers, John, Torelli, Pip, Williams, Steve, Jones, Derek K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4409-8049, Deoni, Sean C.L., Pasricha, Sant-Rayn, Phiri, Kamija S. and Umar, Eric 2026. Feasibility, image quality, and analytic usability of mobile 64 mT ultra-low-field MRI for infant brain imaging at 3 and 12 months in Southern Malawi. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Open 28 , 100225. 10.1016/j.jmro.2026.100225

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Abstract

Mobile ultra-low-field MRI (ULF-MRI) could reduce inequities in infant neuroimaging in sub-Saharan Africa, but evidence of its feasibility, image quality, and analytic usability remains limited. We evaluated the feasibility, image quality, and analytic usability of mobile 64 mT ULF-MRI for non-sedated infant brain imaging at three and twelve months of age within a longitudinal trial platform in southern Malawi. Feasibility was assessed through visit-level scan uptake and sequence completion; image quality through artifact-based quality control (QC) and radiologist interpretability review; and analytic usability through multi-structure volumetry and correspondence across independent processing workflows. Across 810 eligible visits (3 months: 410; 12 months: 400), 654 MRI sessions were completed (80.7%; 86.6% at 3 months; 74.8% at 12 months), with high sequence acquisition success among completed scans. Of 654 completed sessions, 495 entered artifact-based QC and 442/495 (89.3%) met predefined full-brain quality criteria for volumetric processing; motion-related degradation was the principal determinant of exclusion. Radiologist review (n = 426) rated 396/426 scans (93.0%) as analysable. Volumetry was derived for 215 infants at 3 months and 227 at 12 months, with 99 paired observations demonstrating measurable age-related differences in tissue volumes (grey matter +39.0 ± 7.2%; white matter +48.8± 9.5%). An independent cloud-based pipeline showed high correspondence for supratentorial tissue and total intracranial volume at 12 months (r ≈ 0.97). These findings demonstrate that non-sedated infant ULF-MRI can acheive high uptake, interpretable imaging, and scalable volumetric processing in a low-resource setting. The results support its analytic readiness for integration into developmental neuroscience research where conventional MRI is unavailable.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Psychology Research Institutes & Centres > Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC)
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	2666-4410
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	18 August 2026
Last Modified:	02 Sep 2026 13:36
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/189057

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