Faster, cheaper MRIs a new breast-screening option from Hong Kong start-up
Galen MRI Systems’ machine is optimised for scanning Asian women’s breasts, cuts scanning time from an hour to 15 minutes and saves 70 per cent on cost; hospitals and clinics can use it once regulatory approvals are complete
Women worried about the discomfort of having a mammogram, or the high cost of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) screening, may soon have another way of checking their breast health.
Galen MRI Systems recently debuted its EMMA machine, designed for quicker scans using a technology tailored for Asian women who tend to have denser breasts, at Hong Kong Science Park.
Professor David Tse, Stelux Professor of Marketing at the University of Hong Kong, is co-founder and director of this Hong Kong start-up. He says mammograms cost HK$2,500 to $3,000 (US$320-$380), while MRI scans, which offer clearer and more reliable images, cost about HK$10,000; these are often used to scan women with a high risk of breast cancer.
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Thanks to advances in imaging technology, and breakthroughs by Dr Christopher Comstock of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York, the start-up produced a machine that drastically reduces the time it takes for a breast scan, and thus the cost. The EMMA machine take 15 minutes, and each scan costs about HK$3,000, Tse says.
