DOTmed Industry Sector Report: Mobile Trailer Transportation, Trailer Storage, MRI Keep Cold Service

by Keith Loria, Reporter | October 20, 2009

Problem Solving

The two critical elements in keeping a magnet cold involve ensuring that the helium level is monitored and topped off as required, and making sure that the refrigeration system is operating within specification.

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Poor maintenance and servicing procedures can often lead to a quench, and recovering from a quench will be costly and time consuming.

"Magnet technology has gotten better and with experienced engineers, quenches don't happen near as often as they used to," says Michael Webster of Legacy Medical Imaging. "A black quench means the magnet shorted or burned up and is not repairable (in the field). A soft quench you can replace the baffle, check magnet resistance, check for signs of ice, fill it up with cryogens and try to ramp it."

Freund offers that the most important aspect is addressing the problem as quickly as possible, minimizing any air ingress and ensuring that the system does not go warm.

"As soon as the quench subsides, the venting needs to be inspected to ensure that all valves have closed, bursting discs are inspected to ensure that they have not been compromised," he says. "O-rings are often overlooked and also need to be inspected. Once the venting integrity has been established, the system needs to be checked for any air/ice ingress. If clear, the system can be re-filled with liquid helium and re-ramped to field. A frequency check and shim check should be included with this part of the service to ensure the system is within specification."

Helium Costs Rising

The worldwide consumption of helium has increased by between 5% and 10% a year in the past decade, with the biggest growth in its use as a coolant for the superconducting magnets in MRIs. Present helium consumption is estimated to be about 100 million cubic meters a year, and is predicted to continue rising by 4% to 5% a year.

"Helium costs have doubled all at once for a lot of people. Some people still have good numbers because their contracts aren't up, but eventually they will all be paying that much," Profeta says, pointing to the shortage of helium as the reason. "Our price almost doubled."

According to those doing the renting, the medical mobile industry continues to do well, and the transportation, storage and keep-cold businesses concentrate on providing top customer service to keep the overall industry strong.