Ohio State University researchers said that while treadmill stress testing is an essential tool in the prevention, detection and treatment of cardiovascular disease, physicians often cannot obtain clear images of the heart while a patient is at a peak stress level.

So Ohio State scientists designed equipment to provide high-resolution images of the heart that have previously been difficult to obtain using standard testing procedures.

"In the past, we were constrained by the time lapse between the completion of exercise and capturing the images," said Ohio State Associate Professor Orlando Simonetti. "We now have the ability to exercise patients to peak stress and obtain a high definition image of their heart within 60 seconds, which helps us more accurately identify exercise-induced abnormalities."

The researchers modified a treadmill for use within a magnetic resonance imaging scan room. Magnetic components were replaced with non-magnetic stainless steel and aluminum equivalents.

Simonetti said the Ohio State Medical Center is the only place in the world performing treadmill exercise stress tests in an MRI scanning room.