Highly Portable and Cloud-Enabled Neuroimaging Research: Confronting Ethics Challenges in Field Research with New Populations

This website provides updates and disseminates resources related to an innovative project based at the University of Minnesota and supported by the NIH BRAIN Initiative (Grant #RF1MH123698) to conduct empirical research and generate evidence-based consensus recommendations for the ethical conduct of research using highly portable, cloud-enabled MRI in new and diverse populations in field settings. The project includes a national Working Group of top neuroethics, neurolaw, and neuroscience experts.

The Project is based at the University of Minnesota’s Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment & the Life Sciences.

Image credit: Alexis Kocken
 

Special Symposium in Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics: Emerging Portable Technology for Neuroimaging Research in New Field Settings: Legal & Ethical Challenges

The expanding deployment of highly portable MRI (pMRI) technology for brain research outside the hospital to more remote settings is helping to expand research participation with underserved populations and ensure more inclusive research participation. But the rapid development of pMRI technology has outpaced the ethical, legal and societal implication (ELSI) guidelines necessary to ensure research participant safety and community trust during brain research projects.

A new symposium of nine articles funded by the NIH BRAIN Initiative – “Emerging Portable Technology for Neuroimaging Research in New Field Settings: Legal & Ethical Challenges” – is the culmination of five years of work and addresses those barriers and provides guidance for the successful implementation of pMRI for brain research in the community. University of Minnesota Professors Francis Shen, JD, PhD, Susan M. Wolf, JD, and Frances Lawrenz, PhD, were guest editors of the symposium, which appears in the Winter 2024 issue of the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics.

“Portable MRI has the potential to be a game changer for neuroscience research,” Prof. Shen says. “But to achieve that potential we need to address the significant ethical and legal challenges of democratizing access to sophisticated medical technologies in non-clinical settings. The ELSI Checklist in this symposium is a tool we hope all pMRI researchers will utilize.”

●       Introduction: Revolutionizing Neuroimaging Research with Highly Portable MRI: Confronting Ethical and Legal Challenges (Francis X. Shen, JD, PhD; Susan M. Wolf, JD; Frances Lawrenz, PhD)

●       (Francis X. Shen, JD, PhD; Susan M. Wolf, JD; Frances Lawrenz, PhD; Donnella S. Comeau, MD, PhD; Conducting Research with Highly Portable MRI in Community Settings: A Practical Guide to Navigating Ethical Issues and ELSI ChecklistBarbara J. Evans, JD, PhD, LLM; Damien Fair, PA-C, PhD; Martha Farah, PhD; Michael Garwood, PhD; S. Duke Han, PhD; Judy Illes, CM, PhD; Jonathan D. Jackson, PhD; Eran Klein, MD, PhD; Matthew S. Rosen, PhD; Efrain Torres, PhD; Paul Tuite, MD; J. Thomas Vaughn, PhD)

●       Expert Stakeholder Perspectives on Emerging Technology for Neuroimaging Research with Highly Portable MRI: The Need for Guidance on Ethical, Legal, and Societal Issues (Molly Madzelan, PhD; Frances Lawrenz, PhD; Susan M. Wolf, JD; Francis Shen, JD, PhD)

●       Far from Home: Managing Incidental Findings in Field Research with Portable MRI (Susan M. Wolf, JD; Judy Illes, CM, PhD)

●       The Realization of Portable MRI for Indigenous Communities in the USA and Canada (Shana Birly, MS; Angela Teeple, MLS; Judy Illes, CM, PhD)

●       Socioeconomic Factors in Brain Research: Increasing Sample Representativeness with Portable MRI (Martha Farah, PhD)

●       Portable Accessible MRI in Dementia Research: Ethical Considerations About Research Representation and Dementia-Friendly Technology (Eran Klein, MD, PhD; S. Duke Han, PhD; Paul Tuite, MD; W. Taylor Kimberly, MD, PhD; Mohit Agarwal, MD)

●       The Need for IRB Leadership to Address the New Ethical Challenges of Research with Highly Portable Neuroimaging Technologies (Donnella S. Comeau, MD, PhD; Benjamin C. Silverman, MD; Mahsa Alborzi Avanki, MD; Susan M. Wolf, JD)

●       Ethical Oversight and Social Licensing of Portable MRI Research (Barbara J. Evans, PhD, JD, LLM)

Consortium on Law and Values Conference: Emerging Portable Technology for Neuroimaging Research in New Field Settings

Ethical, Legal, and Policy Challenges in Field-Based Neuroimaging Research

Presented by Francis X. Shen and Susan M. Wolf


The Future of Portable MRI in Research: Challenges and Opportunities

Presented by Frances Lawrenz, Damien Fair, Martha J. Farah, and Eran Klein

To watch video presentations, click here.

Keynote presentations: Portable MRI Research: Applications and Opportunities

December 11, 2023

“Highly Portable MRI Research: Lessons from the Field” presented by Sean C. L. Deoni

“Decolonizing MRI Research” presented by Jonathan D. Jackson

Community Engagement and Data Control in Portable MRI Research

Presented by Judy Illes, Angie Mejia, Barbara J. Evans, and Reverend Alvin C. Hathaway

Oversight of Portable MRI Research

Presented by J. Thomas Vaughan, Matthew S. Rosen, Donnella S. Comeau, and Khara M. Ramos

Additional Project Publications and Presentations

 

  • Revolutionizing Brain Research Using Portable MRI in Field Settings: Public Perspectives on the Ethical and Legal Challenges

    Madzelan MK, Lawrenz F, Wolf SM, Shen FX. Revolutionizing Brain Research Using Portable MRI in Field Settings: Public Perspectives on the Ethical and Legal Challenges. Neuroethics 2025;18 Download PDF

  • Ethical, Legal, and Policy Challenges in Field-Based Neuroimaging Research Using Emerging Portable MRI Technologies: Guidance for Investigators and for Oversight

    Shen FX, Wolf SM, Lawrenz F, et al. Ethical, Legal, and Policy Challenges in Field-Based Neuroimaging Research Using Emerging Portable MRI Technologies: Guidance for Investigators and for Oversight. Journal of Law and the Biosciences 2024;11(1):1-61. Download PDF

  • Scientists' Perspectives on Ethical Issues in Research with Emerging Portable Neuroimaging Technology: The Need for Guidance on Ethical, Legal, and Societal Implications (ELSI)

    Description goesDaniels F, Torres E, Lawrenz F, Wolf SM, Shen FX. Scientists' Perspectives on Ethical Issues in Research with Emerging Portable Neuroimaging Technology: The Need for Guidance on Ethical, Legal, and Societal Implications (ELSI). NMR in Biomedicine 2024;37(9):1-10. Download PDF here

  • Health Care Needs A New Profession - Neuroimaging Counseling

    Until recently, getting an MRI meant traveling to the hospital. But a new generation of more affordable and highly portable MRI (pMRI) devices are rapidly reshaping neuroimaging research and clinical care. The scanner will now come to you. That means the time is ripe for a related innovation: neuroimaging counseling. Link to STAT.

  • Imaging with Portable Low-Field MRI.

    Kimberly WT, Sorby-Adams AJ, Webb AG, Wu EX, Beekman R, Bowry R, Schiff SJ, de Havenon A, Shen FX, Sze G, Schaefer P, Iglesias JE, Rosen MS, Seth KN. Brain Imaging with Portable Low-Field MRI. Nature Reviews Bioengineering 2023;1:617-630.

  • Emerging Ethical Issues Raised by Highly Portable MRI Research in Remote and Resource-Limited International Settings

    NeuroImage, Volume 238, September 2021. To explore the publication, click here.

  • The Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Highly Portable and Cloud-Enabled Neuroimaging in the Field

    Poster Presentation: International Neuroethics SWociety (INS) Annual Meeting 2019. To explore the publication, click here.

  • Comment, Ethical Challenges in Remote Research

    JAMA, Volume 325, Mat 7, 2021. To explore the abstract, click here.

  • Ethical Issues Posed by Field Research Using Highly Portable and Cloud-enabled Neuroimaging

    Neuron, Volume 105, March 4, 2020. To explore the poster, click here.

  • The Need for ELSI Guidance on Mobile Neuroimaging Technologies: Stakeholder Perspectives of Scientists Developing the Technologies

    Francis X. Shen, Frances P. Lawrenz, Susan M. Wolf, Michael Garwood. Poster abstract: BRAIN Initiative Investigators Meeting 2021. To explore the abstract, click here.

Working Group Member Presentations

 

Matthew Rosen: Building an MRI Scanner 60 Times Cheaper & Small Enough to Fit in an Ambulance

May 20, 2022

As a Harvard Professor, alongside his colleagues at the MGH/A.A Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging in Boston, Matthew Rosen worked on applications of advanced biomedical imaging technologies. One of several projects was hacking a new kind of scanner that’s fast, small, and cheap. Using algorithms, they can use a weak magnetic field to get good images of our brains and other organs. Someday, people may not have to go to a hospital for an MRI. The scanners may show up in sports arenas, battlefields, and even the backs of ambulances. Dr. Rosen shared his vision of how biomedical imaging has evolved past, present and his views on where disruptive opportunities will be in 5, 10 and 20 years.

 

What If Mental Illness Could Be Treated with Electrical Engineering?

September 5, 2017

Kafui Dzirasa, MD, PhD. Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Duke University

Modulating the Mind

March 30, 2020.

Judy Illes, PhD. Professor of Neurology and Canada Research Chair in Neuroethics at UBC

Socioeconomic Status and Brain Development

November 17, 2017

Martha Farah, PhD. Walter H. Annenberg Professor in Natural Sciences, Professor of Psychology - University of Pennsylvania

Why Every Story is a Brain Story

March 30, 2020

Francis Shen, JD, PhD. Professor of Law - University of Minnesota; Instructor in Psychology - Harvard Medical School

To watch video presentations, click here.

Portable and Accessible Neuroimaging News

 

Neuroimaging technologies are rapidly becoming more accessible and portable. We present here some notable news related to these developments.

  • MRI For All

    Adrian Cho, February 23, 2023. To explore the article, click here.

  • Portable MRI device reduces time for diagnosing traumatic brain injuries

    UC Davis Health Medical Center, March 23, 2022. To explore the article, click here.

  • MUSC Exploring Use of MRI in Ambulance to Help Stroke Patients

    Chase Laudenslager, January 5, 2022. To explore the article, click here.

  • A Portable MRI Makes Imaging More Democratic

    Simon Makin, December 16, 2021. To explore the article, click here.

  • Portable MRI Machine Opens A World of Possibilities for M Health Fairview patients

    M Health Fairview, December 9, 2021. To explore the article, click here.

  • Cision: Hyperfine Receives $3.3 Million Grant to Improve Access to Neonatal and Pediatric Brain Imaging in Low-Resource Settings Globally

    Emily Barnes, November 2, 2021. To explore the article, click here.

  • Portable MRI provides life-saving information to doctors treating strokes

    Bill Hathaway, August 25, 2021. To explore the article, click here.

  • Bloomberg Businessweek: Can a $110 Million Helmet Unlock the Secrets of the Mind?

    Ashlee Vance, June 26, 2021. To explore the article, click here.

  • Additute: Neuroimaging and ADHD: Findings, Limitations, and Promise

    Barbara Franke PhD., Hugh Garavan PhD., Tor Wager PhD., April 9, 2021. To explore the article, click here.

  • Scientific American: An Emerging Tool for COVID Times: The Portable MRI

    Carolyn Barber, November 12, 2020. To explore the article, click here.

  • STAT: Smaller, Lighter, Cheaper: A Serial Entrepreneur Wants His Portable MRI to Transform Medicine

    Matthew Herper, October 25, 2019. To explore the article, click here.