Cloud Computing Boosts MRI Quality in Uganda's Underserved Hospitals

A new project is improving MRI scan quality in Uganda using cloud computing. The I3M-MUST collaboration connects Spanish and Ugandan researchers to tackle imaging challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa. Their work aims to make MRI technology more accessible in regions with limited resources. The project involves the Institute of Instrumentation for Molecular Imaging (I3M) in Spain and Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Uganda. Together, they address the scarcity of MRI facilities in Uganda, where patients often travel long distances for scans, delaying critical diagnoses for conditions like stroke and brain injuries.

Since 2023, the teams have tested advanced reconstruction methods and linked the Ugandan MRI system to Tyger, Microsoft Research’s cloud platform. Raw MRI signals are sent to Microsoft Azure, where tools like SNRAware remove noise and correct distortions. This approach shifts the heavy processing workload from local machines to the cloud, reducing reliance on expensive hardware.

The project also invests in training at MUST, teaching students and healthcare workers how to use MRI technology and reconstruct images. Dozens of volunteers have been scanned since 2025, with improvements in full-head imaging over time. The collaboration is making MRI scans more reliable in low-resource settings. By moving complex processing to the cloud, the project helps overcome hardware limitations. Better imaging could lead to faster diagnoses and improved care for patients in Uganda.