April 24, 2017 — Philips announced that it will feature the company’s latest magnetic resonance (MR) solutions and neurology-focused clinical applications at the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine’s (ISMRM) 25th annual meeting and exhibition, April 22-27 in Hawaii. As part of its newest suite of MR-based software applications dedicated to neurology, Philips will be showcasing MultiBand SENSE, which was developed in collaboration with several partners, including the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont.
At ISMRM, Philips will demonstrate innovations designed to extend MR’s valuable role across the health continuum, touching more lives with the technology that sheds light on intricate anatomical structures and helps clinicians to make confident diagnostic decisions.
Among Philips’ newest neurology software applications is MultiBand SENSE, a clinical application that allows simultaneous acquisition of multiple slices in the brain in functional MRI (fMRI) and diffusion imaging. This capability enables accelerated neuro-functional and diffusion scans at high speed and high resolution with virtually no impact on signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), providing radiologists with the option to increase coverage or resolution without increasing scan time. MultiBand SENSE leverages Philips’ dStream digital platform on the Ingenia 3T family of MRI systems.
MultiBand SENSE has played a vital role in the university’s participation in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States. The National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study aims to track the biological and behavioral development of approximately 11,500 children through adolescence into young adulthood. UVM — co-led by Prof. of Psychiatry Hugh Garavan, Ph.D., and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Alexandra Potter, Ph.D. — is one of 21 participating sites.
Richard Watts, Ph.D., associate professor of radiology and an MRI physicist at the University of Vermont, worked with Philips in development of MultiBand SENSE and has used the application in the protocols of their research to increase speed. “Specific advanced neuroimaging protocols had to be met for a site to be eligible for this large-scale study, and Philips worked with us to make that possible,” said Watts. “With Philips’ MultiBand SENSE, we are imaging six times faster, with the possibility to go up to eight, while still maintaining quality imaging results, which is key to meeting the high specifications of the study.”
At ISMRM, Philips will also be highlighting two additional MR-based clinical applications that are in development:
- Compressed SENSE – Designed to tackle the challenges associated with bringing speed in MRI while maintaining consistent image quality; and
- APT – APT (Amide Proton Transfer) addresses the need for definitive diagnosis in neuro-oncology.
For more information: www.usa.philips.com/healthcare
March 13, 2026 
