Research use of an ultra-low-field MRI to measure child neurodevelopment at 3 and 12 months of age in Southern Malawi, Sub-Saharan Africa

Motivation: In Sub-Saharan Africa, limited MRI access and expertise can be addressed through international collaborations to enhance quality neuroimaging data collection in brain research. Goal(s): We describe research usability and reliability of an ultra-low-field (64mT) MRI data collection from Zomba, Malawi. Approach: We scanned ~481 children at 3 and 12 months of age, using hyperfine Swoop ULF-MRI (64T) for neuroimaging data to augment traditional randomized control trial outcome measures. We summarize procedures, participant responsiveness, and neuroimaging quality. Results: Full-scan success was in over 88% of participants within 55 weeks, with 87.4 to 99.6% completing all 5 scanning sequences. Full-brain quality scans were in >79%. Impact: International collaborations, such as UNITY project, utilizing ultra-low-field MRI improves research capacity and enables reliable measurement of brain development in Sub-Saharan Africa. This significantly promotes advancement of developmental neuroscience in the region.