India has a significant unmet need for accessible brain imaging, says Maria Sainz
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, has initiated clinical use of the Swoop® portable MRI system of Hyperfine, Inc. (Nasdaq: HYPR), becoming the first hospital in India to deploy bedside MRI for routine clinical use, marking an important milestone for neurological care across the country.
In a collaboration between Radiosurgery Global Ltd (the exclusive Swoop® system distributor in India) and AIIMS New Delhi’s Centre for Neurological Conditions, the Swoop® system is now performing bedside brain imaging for routine clinical care under the leadership of Dr Shailesh Gaikwad, Head of the Department of Neuroimaging and Interventional Neuroradiology and Chief of the Neuroscience Centre at AIIMS New Delhi.
“Bedside brain imaging transforms how we care for our most critically ill patients. At AIIMS, we manage thousands of stroke and ICU patients annually, where rapid neuroimaging is essential—yet transport to conventional MRI is often unsafe or impossible,” said Dr Shailesh Gaikwad, Head, Department of Neuroimaging and Interventional Neuroradiology and Chief of Neuroscience Centre AIIMS New Delhi.
“The Swoop® system eliminates that barrier. Now our clinicians can obtain diagnostic images at the point of care, enabling faster decision-making in neurology, trauma, and critical care. For a medical institution like ours that serves as a referral center across India, this deployment signals what’s possible when technology and clinical need align to advance neurological care,” he said on 29 April.
Why This Matters for India
India is home to over a billion people across diverse geographies, including urban megacities, remote districts, rural communities, and everything in between. Across this landscape, timely access to neuroimaging remains a significant challenge. When patients suffer a stroke, sustain a brain injury, or present with a neurological emergency, the imaging required for diagnosis and treatment is often delayed or unavailable.
Conventional high-field MRI systems require dedicated shielded rooms, specialized infrastructure, and patient transport. For critically ill patients in ICUs, trauma bays, neurosurgery wards, neonatal units, and emergency departments, transport is often not feasible. These limitations can delay diagnosis and treatment and impact outcomes.
The Swoop® system addresses these barriers by bringing MRI directly to the point of care. It requires no dedicated room, specialized power, or patient transfer. Clinicians can roll the system to the patient’s bedside in the ICU, trauma centre, stroke unit, or neonatal ward and obtain brain images when and where they are needed most.
The Breadth of Clinical Impact
The Swoop® system supports a wide range of unmet clinical needs across India’s healthcare ecosystem:
Neurology and Stroke: Rapid bedside brain imaging to support timely assessment and decision-making in acute stroke care without the risks associated with patient transfer.
Emergency Care and Trauma: Timely bedside assessment of traumatic brain injury in clinical settings where speed of diagnosis is critical.
Critical Care and ICU: Ongoing neurological monitoring for critically ill patients without disrupting intensive care workflows.
Pediatric Care: Safe, accessible brain imaging for infants in PICUs, where conventional MRI is often inaccessible or clinically impractical.
Outpatient Neurology and GP Practices: Community-based point-of-care brain imaging that supports screening and streamlined referral pathways.
Neurosurgery: Post-operative monitoring without moving vulnerable patients.
Deployment at AIIMS New Delhi marks the beginning of broader adoption across India, bringing point-of-care brain imaging to clinical environments where it can have the greatest impact.
“Bringing the Swoop® system to AIIMS New Delhi is an important milestone following regulatory approval last December. India has a significant unmet need for accessible brain imaging. Deployment at the country’s leading institution signals the start of bringing point-of-care brain MRI to sites of care and institutions across India, where it can serve clinicians and their patients across neurological conditions,” said Maria Sainz, President and CEO of Hyperfine.
“Radiosurgery Global exists to democratize access to transformative technologies. We’re proud that the Swoop® system’s first clinical deployment in India is at AIIMS New Delhi—an institution that shares our commitment to advancing patient care across this vast, underserved landscape. This isn’t just a regulatory or commercial milestone—it’s the beginning of changing outcomes for critically ill patients in ICUs, trauma units, and stroke centres nationwide,” said Kapil Kalra, Managing Director, Radiosurgery Global Ltd.
A Platform for Clinical Research and Discovery
The Swoop® system deployment at AIIMS New Delhi also establishes a foundation for clinical research. As a leading centre for neuroscience research and clinical innovation, AIIMS New Delhi is uniquely positioned to generate real-world evidence to guide the adoption and utilization of portable MRI across India. The AIIMS New Delhi team plans to document outcomes, contribute to peer-reviewed publications, and advance India’s role in the growing global evidence base for point-of-care brain imaging. Fiinews.com
