Hyperfine has received a Gates Foundation grant of $3.7 million to strengthen the company’s initiatives to improve global brain health in underserved settings.

The funding supports activities into 2028. It will be used to grow and speed technical innovation with artificial intelligence (AI)-powered portable MRI for neonatal scanning to conduct objective evaluation of neurodevelopment among infants and young children in resource-constrained settings.

The UNITY project led by King’s College London is leveraging the accessible, scalable Swoop system to enable more effective interventions that hope to improve child brain development and health across the world.

Millions of infants globally are born prematurely, face malnutrition or experience other forms of health adversity, putting them at risk for delayed, impaired, or suboptimal neurodevelopment. To date, evaluation of neurodevelopment in resource-constrained countries has relied on proxy indicators, such as physical growth or behavioral tests, which may not accurately reflect brain development and prevent babies from receiving appropriate care.

The Swoop MRI can objectively evaluate early brain development and monitor the impact of maternal and child health interventions. This offers clinicians real-time, actionable insights to better inform treatment, the company said.

“Hyperfine brings all the relevant expertise needed for this investment to be successful,” said Professor Steve Williams of King’s College London, principal investigator for the UNITY research initiative. “With the Swoop system, we have already performed more than 10,000 examinations and scanned more than 6,000 babies and infants across five continents, demonstrating both the scalability and the life-changing potential of this technology.”

More on the UNITY project

The project is an initiative to study environmental influences on early brain maturation and the impact of malnutrition, infection, inflammation, and birth complications on neurodevelopment using portable MRI.

The new phase will focus on helping optimize treatment in underserved areas. The UNITY research initative is made up of over 40 academic and clinical centers in low-, middle-, and high-income countries, including Malawi, Ghana, Zambia, Kenya, India, and Pakistan.

With the Gates Foundation grant, the partnership aims to build AI-based pipelines to improve image clarity for neonatal patients, where motion and low signal-to-noise ratio are challenging.

“As the company with the first FDA-cleared commercial ultra-low-field portable MR brain imaging system, Hyperfine remains uniquely positioned to lead and support this global effort,” said Maria Sainz, president and CEO of Hyperfine. “This new grant reflects not only confidence in our technology, but also in our readiness to scale solutions that matter. We are proud to advance global health by making imaging technology more accessible in all parts of the world with the support from the Gates Foundation as we continue working with the UNITY project and its researchers on efforts that promote the healthy development of young children around the globe.”

Last month, the company launched Portable Ultra-Low-Field Scientific Exchange (PULSE), a subscription-based platform that was designed to help clinical researchers and developers advance access and innovation in portable MRI.