MRI scanners are used to collect detailed 3D images of the body, and do not expose the body to the radiation levels of X-rays.

Andrew B.Holbrook is a research associate in the radiology department at Stanford’s School of Medicine and recently told eWeek that he has developed his own applications for the TouchPad, so that Stanford technicians can start and stop MRI scans, whether they are inside or outside of the exam room.

The apps also allow the technicians to view or manipulate medical data, while the TouchPad's ability to multi-tasking even enables these same technicians to switch between scans of different areas of the body at any time. Holbrook added that multiple apps can control MRIs, with one helping to guide a device inside a body while others ensure that the scanning functionality is in order.

When asked as to why he chose the TouchPad, Holbrook highlighted that the TouchPad is easy to break down and reassemble, and this enabled him to remove all metal components so that the tablet could work in the MRI’s magnetized chamber.

Holbrook began experimenting with defective or fire-sale TouchPads shortly after the tablet was discontinued and hopes to begin using the device for patient clinical trials in the coming months.

HP discontinued the TouchPad in August, a startling decision at the time given that the tablet had been on the market less than a year. The news was even more surprising given that HP had spent $1.2 billion on acquiring Palm's webOS software - the OS for the tablet -  just a year before.

This news resulted in the TouchPad's price falling to as low as $99, before CEO Meg Whitman gave life to the device, when she announced earlier this month that webOS will continue to live on as an open-source platform.