Study Shows Economic Benefits of Swoop System Use in Acute Hospital Care

Hyperfine Inc. is touting the first peer-reviewed publication in Clinical Neuroimaging demonstrating the positive economic impact of implementing the portable Swoop MR imaging system in acute hospital care settings.

A 12-month retrospective analysis involved 143 patients and was conducted at Jefferson Abington Hospital, a 665-bed Level II trauma center and comprehensive stroke center within the Jefferson Health System. The analysis examined the cost savings and workflow efficiencies achieved by integrating the Swoop system in critical and emergency care settings.

The analysis found that use of the Swoop system eliminates the need for patients to transition to magnetic resonance (MR)-compatible equipment and significantly reduces MRI wait times in the ICU and emergency department, resulting in measurable cost savings and improved patient progression within the hospital. The combined benefits of cost avoidance, increased throughput, and time savings serve as strong fundamental drivers of a compelling health economic profile for hospitals. Together, these efficiencies have a direct impact on the investment return for the Swoop system, which has the potential to be realized in a significantly shorter timeframe than traditional capital equipment.

“This publication marks a critical milestone in validating not only the clinical utility but also the economic value of portable brain MRI technology,” Hyperfine Senior Vice President of Hospital Business Rafael Donnay said. “We’re proud to see the Swoop system deliver meaningful impact for both patients and hospital operations, and with this data now published, hospital staff has access to a compelling and detailed data set to evaluate how the use of the Swoop system can benefit their institution.”

As part of transporting and preparing ICU patients for a conventional MRI, clinicians transition patients to MR-compatible equipment, which involves the use of extension tubing, cables, and electrodes at a cost averaging $590 per patient. Hospitals could entirely avoid this cost by performing the scan directly in the ICU with the Swoop system. Depending on the utilization of portable MRI, cost savings could range from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars annually for a hospital. Furthermore, wait times for MRI were reduced by an average of 18 hours across ICU and ED patients, thus accelerating the time to diagnosis for patients at risk of neurological conditions. This time reduction addresses two significant hospital challenges—the length of stay of ICU patients and the ED boarding crisis facing the majority of acute care facilities.

“Implementing portable MRI into our hospital has not only improved patient care through faster, safer imaging—it has also proven to be financially compelling for hospital administrators,” stated Dr. Michael Lemole, director of the Farber Institute for Neuroscience at Jefferson Abington Hospital and a recognized expert in neurosurgical innovation.

The findings underscore the way the Swoop system—the world’s first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared portable MRI device—is reshaping neuroimaging by enabling rapid, bedside brain imaging without the logistical delays and costs associated with transporting patients to fixed high-field MRI suites.

Healthcare systems are under growing pressure to improve both efficiency and quality of care. The Jefferson Abbington data included in this peer-reviewed publication illustrate the way use of the portable Swoop system can contribute to making neurological care more cost-effective and efficient in acute and emergency care settings within the hospital. The Jefferson Abington experience offers an evidence-based roadmap for hospitals seeking to enhance imaging access while optimizing operational performance.

The Swoop Portable MR Imaging Systems are FDA-cleared for brain imaging in patients of all ages. They are portable, ultra-low-field magnetic resonance imaging devices for producing images that display the head’s internal structure where full diagnostic examination is not clinically practical. When interpreted by a trained physician, these images provide information that can be useful in determining a diagnosis.

Hyperfine Inc. is redefining brain imaging with the Swoop system—the first FDA-cleared, portable, ultra-low-field, magnetic resonance brain imaging system capable of providing imaging at multiple points of professional care. Hyperfine aims to revolutionize patient care globally through transformational, accessible, clinically relevant diagnostic imaging. Founded by Dr. Jonathan Rothberg in a technology-based incubator called 4Catalyzer, Hyperfine Inc. scientists, engineers, and physicists developed the Swoop system out of a passion for redefining brain imaging methodology and the way clinicians can apply accessible diagnostic imaging to patient care.