The Department of Cardiovascular Radiology at AIIMS, New Delhi, has introduced ‘RAPID Cardiac MRI’ method for rapid cardiac iron assessment, significantly cutting down the time needed for diagnosis.
Developed by Prof James Moon and his team in the UK, this unique MRI protocol can measure cardiac iron in approximately 8 minutes, a substantial reduction compared to the standard 45-minute cardiac MRI.
This innovation allows for efficient screening of up to 50 thalassemia patients in a single day during surveillance/screening camps, and it is currently provided free of charge to all thalassemia patients at AIIMS as part of the AIIMS-UCL collaboration project led by Prof Priya Jagia.
With an estimated 42 million beta-thalassemia carriers and 10,000 new cases reported each year, one in eight patients reside in India. These patients, particularly children, face lifelong blood transfusions that lead to excessive iron buildup in various organs, notably the heart, causing cardiac dysfunction and high mortality rates (50-70 per cent). To prevent iron overload cardiomyopathy, timely chelation therapy is crucial. Serum ferritin, the commonly used marker for iron overload, often fails to predict cardiac iron deposition.
The global gold standard for cardiac iron detection is T2* cardiac MRI, but it’s expensive, time-consuming, and lacks standardization whereas AIIMS’ RAPID Cardiac MRI, swiftly assesses cardiac iron levels.
Incorporating T2* MRI into Indian guidelines and RAPID MRI mass screening for thalassemia patients is essential. Enhanced community outreach and clinician awareness, supported by various stakeholders, can make this technology a standard in India, substantially improving healthcare. In the UK, T2* MR imaging has significantly increased patient lifespan, and India could witness an over 80 percent reduction in mortality with RAPID MRI-guided chelation therapy.