Mary-Brenda Akoda develops AI technology to reduce MRI scan times by 90%

Nigerian AI researcher Mary-Brenda Akoda has developed GenMRI, an artificial intelligence technology designed to reduce Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan times by up to 90 per cent. The innovation, developed by Akoda through her company GenScan AI, aims to address medical diagnostic delays, high equipment costs, and patient backlogs.

During the presentation of the 2026 Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation in Lagos, Akoda explained that the software can reduce a 20-minute scan to approximately two minutes. The technology works by using AI to reconstruct diagnostic-quality images from significantly less scanning data, allowing it to function on existing scanners without requiring expensive new hardware.

The software has undergone validation using thousands of cardiac and other MRI images. In a blinded assessment with a consultant radiologist at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust in the United Kingdom, GenMRI-enhanced images were found to be diagnostically equivalent to conventional MRI images. Akoda plans to roll out the solution in Nigeria and the UK by the second half of 2027.