About

The theme for MRathon will be open-source low-field MRI.

Speakers

Experts who specialize in implementing cutting-edge research into open-source projects will give tutorials and thought-provoking talks to inspire us!

A sprint to push boundaries for collective creativity

Participants who would like to work on a coding project are welcome to submit their project idea for making MRI research more accessible!

Registration

Registration is now open!

MRathon is a volunteer-driven effort!

Socialize

This is a great opportunity to enhance your network and start new collaborations!

From ideas to action

A hackathon pitch is an excellent launching pad to bring your accessible MRI ideas to life! If you have a project in mind, don't forget to open a GitHub issue to have it displayed on our website 👇

Hack

Swift moves, creative improvisation, and the perfect kick of problem-solving, all in the quest for accessible MRI!

PITCH AN MRATHON PROJECT

VENUE

Stellenbosch University

Campus Center Rooms 308/309

Schedule

Spin Your Echo MR Hackathon

Low-field Mini MR Scanner Spin Echo Acquisition Hackathon Co-organized with CAMERA May 15-May 17, 2026 (Post ISMRM, 2026) Biomedical Research Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Stellenbosch University, Francie Van Zijl Dr, Parow, Cape Town, 7505, South Africa

Friday, May 15th, 2026 – Cape Town Convention Center

(South Africa Standard Time – UTC + 2)

1:00 - 1:30 PM: Welcome and introduction (Udunna A. and Stefan D.)
1:30 - 5:00 PM: Social Activity

Saturday, May 16th, 2026 – BRI, Stellenbosch University*

9:00 - 9:30 AM: Welcome, Need for Standardization of Open-Source Low-Field MRI, Stefan du Plessis, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
9:30 - 10:00 AM: AM Seminar, Low-Field MRI Transmit and Receive Chains for Open-Source Scanners, Speaker TBC
10:00 - 10:30 AM: Morning Coffee
10:30 - 11:30 AM: Standardization Think Tank (Nikola Stikov), W5 for Standardization of Open-Source Systems, Panel Discussion (Panelist Speaker TBC)
11:30 - 11:45 AM: Software Demo, Signal Acquisition Software (MaRGE or Pulseq) Demo, Speaker TBC
11:45 - 12:00 PM: Field Mapping, Field Mapping from Very-Low to Very-High (Industry partner)
12:00 - 1:00 PM: Lunch Break
1:00 - 2:00 PM: Build Lab I, Assembling Preclinical Low-field Scanner (IMAGINE scanner and electronics assembly)
2:00 - 2:30 PM: PM Seminar, Signal acquisition challenges at low field I (Tabletop MRI), Speaker TBC
2:30 - 3:00 PM: PM Seminar, Signal acquisition challenges at low field II (OSI Mini), Speaker TBC
3:00 - 3:30 PM: Afternoon Tea
3:30 - 4:00 PM: PM Seminar, RF and Gradient coils for low field – Lesson from High field, Speaker TBC
4:00 - 5:00 PM: Build Lab II, Acquisition Software Installation, Installation of MaRGE and Python-based spin echo generator software
5:00 - 7:00 PM: Sponsored Dinner

Sunday, May 17th, 2026 – BRI, Stellenbosch University*

9:00 - 9:05 AM: Welcome, Udunna Anazodo, McGill University, Canada
9:05 - 9:30 AM: Evidence: Documentation the Right Way, Nikola Stikov
9:30 - 10:15 AM: Build Lab III, Spin Your Echo, Spin your echo using MaRGE/Marcos/Python-code
10:15 - 10:30 AM: Morning Coffee
10:30 - 12:00 PM: Build Lab IV, Spin Your Echo, Spin your echo and phantom Image acquisition using MaRGE/Marcos/Python-code
12:00 - 1:00 PM: Lunch Break
1:00 - 3:30 PM: Build Lab IV, Spin Your Echo, Spin your echo and phantom Image acquisition using MaRGE/Marcos/Python-code
3:30 - 4:00 PM: Afternoon Tea
4:00 - 5:00 PM: Documentation (Nikola Stikov / Hugo), Git Reporting of Build Lab exercises
5:00 - 5:15 PM: Closing, Stefan Du Plessis