Specialized MRI system at Toronto’s SickKids hospital can scan critically ill newborns without leaving NICU – CTV

April 15, 2025

There’s a new specialized MRI at Toronto’s SickKids hospital for babies like Yalman—a critically ill newborn—where they can get scanned without even having to leave the neonatal intensive care unit.

Yalman, who was born at 38 weeks, was the first-ever ventilated patient in Canada to undergo the new MRI. The downtown Toronto hospital says it took months of planning and training among SickKids’ neonatology, neurology, diagnostic and radiology divisions before they could make this possible—marking a massive achievement, according to the head of the division of neonatology.

“This first-in-Canada NICU MRI is a big achievement,” Dr. Estelle Gauda said in a release issued on Tuesday. “It means babies who are critically ill can get the scans they need right where they are, without us having to transport them to another part of the hospital. This minimizes the time and risks associated with moving these vulnerable patients.”

It also means any newborn or at-risk baby who is too vulnerable to move to a different part of the hospital can get their MRI scans sooner.

Read more: https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/article/specialized-mri-system-at-torontos-sickkids-hospital-can-scan-critically-ill-newborns-without-leaving-nicu/