Hyperfine Swoop begins clinical use at AIIMS New Delhi

AIIMS New Delhi has begun routine clinical use of Hyperfine’s Swoop portable MRI system, marking the first bedside MRI deployment for routine clinical care in India.

The system is being used for bedside brain imaging at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi through a collaboration between AIIMS New Delhi’s Centre for Neurological Conditions, Radiosurgery Global Ltd., and Hyperfine. Radiosurgery Global is the exclusive Swoop distributor in India, according to Hyperfine.

Swoop is a portable, ultra-low-field MRI system designed for brain imaging at the point of care. Hyperfine said the system does not require a dedicated shielded room, specialized power, or patient transfer, allowing it to be used in ICUs, trauma bays, stroke units, neurosurgical settings, and neonatal wards.

The deployment is being led by Shailesh Gaikwad, MD, head of the Department of Neuroimaging and Interventional Neuroradiology and chief of the Neuroscience Centre at AIIMS New Delhi. Hyperfine said the system is now performing bedside brain imaging for routine clinical care under his leadership.

The clinical rationale is straightforward: critically ill patients often need neuroimaging but may be difficult or unsafe to transport to a conventional MRI suite. A portable system allows clinicians to bring imaging closer to the patient instead of moving unstable patients through the hospital.

“Bedside brain imaging transforms how we care for our most critically ill patients,” Gaikwad said in the company announcement.

He added that AIIMS manages thousands of stroke and ICU patients annually, where rapid neuroimaging is essential and transport to conventional MRI can be unsafe or impossible. The team also plans to document outcomes, contribute to peer-reviewed publications, and build real-world evidence for portable MRI use in India, according to Hyperfine.

Hyperfine received regulatory clearance in India in December 2025. The company said the AIIMS deployment is an important milestone after that clearance and could support broader adoption of point-of-care brain MRI across the country.

Maria Sainz, president and CEO of Hyperfine, said India has a significant unmet need for accessible brain imaging and that deployment at AIIMS New Delhi signals the start of bringing point-of-care brain MRI to more care settings in India.

The Swoop system is FDA-cleared in the U.S. for brain imaging of patients of all ages. Hyperfine describes it as the first FDA-cleared portable, ultra-low-field MRI system for brain imaging at multiple points of professional care.

For radiology and neuroimaging teams, the AIIMS deployment is notable because it places MRI closer to acute-care decision-making. The practical impact will depend on image quality, diagnostic performance by clinical indication, workflow integration, and how bedside MRI findings affect treatment decisions in stroke, trauma, intensive care, and neonatal care.