"I see this continuing," echoed Kollitz. "Healthcare providers are trying to figure out if they should purchase new or hang on to equipment. With new coils costing $40,000 - $50,000 and repairs a fraction of that, generally $4,000 to $5,000, customers will continue in the same direction and hang on to their equipment longer, at least for the short term."

"The coil business is very dependent on MRI scanner sales - the more scanners sold, the more coils sold. If scanner sales are down, coils will be down close to the same percentage, except that companies do sell a few coils on an aftermarket basis as well," confirmed MEDRAD's Sehgal. "So the decline in coils is slightly less than MRI scanner sales. But still, if you look at macro trends, the coils are going to follow the trajectory that MRI scanners follow whether up or down."


It appears that the service side of the market is healthier than the sales side, reflecting broader trends in medical imaging and health care at large.
It's official: As go MRI scanners, so go MRI coils.

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MRI Coils: A Breeding Ground for Bacteria

MRI scanners and coils are not sanitized enough. Many hospitals and imaging centers simply don't let cleaning crews into the MRI suite, increasing the likely contamination between patients.

"Most MRI systems do not get cleaned in general. The majority are not cleaned because you cannot let a normal cleaning company in, due to the risk of any metal being introduced into the system. There have been so many accidents that people simply shy away from cleaning them," said former GE engineer Antonio Bayon. He and two colleagues have developed a new product to address the problem. The non-metallic cleaning tool, the MagnaWand, uses a disposable sponge that can be infused with any hospital-grade disinfectant.

Coils can be removed from the imaging suite and cleaned, but it's unlikely that important measure is undertaken.

"We have seen the importance of cleaning patient positioners and coils, but as imaging facilities want to increase their throughput, some of that gets overlooked," said Ryan G. McCartney, Sales Manager, Creative Foam Medical Systems. The company has a new foam technology for MRI coils.

"A coating encapsulates the fabricated foam so there are no seams or sewing, which allows the coil to be quickly wiped down. No areas harbor bacteria for the next patient."

As important as new products are, nothing replaces having infection control procedures and these should not stop at the protective door of the MRI suite.

Here are some tips from Peter Rothschild, MD, a radiologist who pioneered the open MRI:

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