The scan may be done. The technologist may not be.
A time-of-flight Head MRA produces the source images needed to evaluate the cerebral vasculature.
But acquisition is not necessarily the end of the technologist workflow.
MIP post-processing may still require the technologist to create the expected projection series, including rotational and vessel-specific views, before the study is ready to move through the rest of the workflow.
This is not a new workflow problem.
A Stanford/ISMRM study on automated cutout MIPs for 3D TOF MRA reported that manual post-processing could take up to 15 minutes and that the quality of the projections depended in part on technologist experience, skill, and the time invested in creating them. The authors also noted that performing post-processing during another examination could distract the technologist, while doing it afterward could delay moving to the next patient.
A separate Stanford/ASNR study described manual rotational intracranial MRA MIP creation as laborious and time-consuming, reporting that it could take up to 10 minutes depending on the number of projections and technologist experience. The authors also noted that more urgent patient-care needs could sometimes take priority over completing the MIPs.
The issue is not only the number of minutes.
It is what those minutes compete with.
MRI technologist time is already under pressure
MRI technologists manage far more than acquisitions alone.
Their work includes patient screening, positioning, protocol execution, contrast injections, image-quality assessment, troubleshooting, communication with radiologists, documentation, and keeping a schedule moving despite the unexpected.
That workload matters in a workforce environment where staffing remains constrained. The American Society of Radiologic Technologists reported that MRI vacancy rates remained elevated in its 2025 staffing survey.
Canadian data also points to the operational importance of technologist staffing. A national analysis of MRI service delivery found that sites with more full-time-equivalent MRI technologists per MRI unit tended to perform more examinations annually, while also noting that throughput depends on multiple factors including exam complexity and scheduling models.
That does not mean five minutes automatically becomes an additional scan.
It does mean five minutes no longer spent on repetitive post-processing is five minutes the technologist can use elsewhere.
Head MRA is a good example of hidden workflow time
AIRS Medical’s Head MRA workflow materials identify approximately five minutes of technologist post-processing associated with routine MIP reconstruction after TOF acquisition.
That work can include generating the configured projection series required by the site, such as:
- Spin
- Tumble
- RCA
- LCA
- Vertebral views
SwiftMR® Auto Cut automates that routine step by processing the acquired TOF source images and generating the configured MIP projection set automatically.
The current workflow materials identify approximately five minutes of technologist post-processing time saved per Head MRA.
Why five minutes matters
Five minutes back does not need to produce a dramatic transformation to be useful.
It can mean:
- Starting the next patient on time
- Spending additional time with an anxious patient
- Resolving an implant or safety question
- Troubleshooting an image-quality issue
- Finishing documentation before it accumulates
- Absorbing a delay from the previous exam
- Simply saving the time it takes to create the MIP series
That is the practical value.
Not “five minutes” as an isolated metric.
Five minutes of technologist attention returned to the rest of the MRI workflow.
Automation can also reduce variability
Time is only one part of the story.
The Stanford cutout-MIP work also highlighted the variability inherent in manual processing. Projection quality and rendering can depend on the technologist’s experience and choices around field of view, rotation parameters, and other settings.
That is where automation can add value beyond speed.
With SwiftMR Auto Cut, the site can define the Head MRA output it wants and apply those settings consistently to eligible source images.
For the technologist, that means less repetitive reconstruction.
For the radiologist, it means a more predictable MIP set.
For multi-site imaging organizations, it creates a workflow that can be reproduced rather than manually recreated exam by exam.
The opportunity is bigger than post-processing
Auto Cut is a capability within SwiftMR, so the Head MRA workflow can address time both during and after acquisition.
SwiftMR can support faster TOF acquisition and AI reconstruction, while Auto Cut automates the MIP post-processing that follows. AIRS Medical’s current workflow materials position those capabilities together as scan-time reduction, SNR recovery, and automated MIP generation.
Acquire faster → Reconstruct with SwiftMR → Auto Cut MIPs → PACS
That is the larger opportunity: not simply reducing one task by five minutes, but identifying where technologist attention is still being spent on work that can be automated.
So why does five minutes back matter?
Because MRI workflow is made up of small blocks of time.
Some require technologist expertise. Some require judgment. Some require patient interaction.
And some are repetitive tasks that software can perform consistently.
Head MRA MIP reconstruction can be one of those tasks.
Returning approximately five minutes per eligible exam may sound small on paper.
In a busy MRI department, it means five fewer minutes of repetitive workstation work—and five more minutes available for everything else that still needs a technologist.
See SwiftMR Auto Cut in Action
See how SwiftMR automatically generates configured Head MRA MIP sets and returns approximately five minutes of routine post-processing time per eligible examination.
Related reading: FDA-Cleared: Auto Cut MIPs for Head MRA with SwiftMR®