Clinical MRI scanners are not designed to allow for easy communication with 3rd party devices, whether for development or clinical purposes. However, most modern scanners provide a synchronization trigger interface that is sequence (and therefore research-user) controllable. We investigated using the synchronization trigger as a serial data output for arbitrary data, and successfully implemented a 192 kilobaud simplex serial interface that can be implemented within any sequence to enable arbitrary data transfer to and control of any external UART device. This opens significant opportunities for 3rd party hardware and software research without manufacturer consent or firmware changes.
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