Jack had a blocked heart valve A British six-year-old boy has
become the first person in the world to have a heart valve
widened using an MRI scan for guidance rather than X-ray
imaging. Jack Walborn was born with the heart condition
pulmonary valve stenosis, which reduces blood flow to the lungs.
Using MRI means patients are not exposed to radiation -
particularly important for children. The scan also provides a
clearer image, and information about the body's tissues, in real
time during surgery. Jack's condition meant that the flow of
blood from the right side of his heart was obstructed. Surgeons
decided he needed an operation called a valvuloplasty to widen
the valve and increase blood flow. This is done by inserting a
catheter into a blood vessel in the arm or groin and guiding it
to the heart. At the tip of the catheter is a balloon which is
gently inflated to widen the narrowed valve. Glass fibre wire
X-ray imaging is usually used to track the progress of the
catheter through the body. But a team at th