by
Joanna Padovano, Reporter | September 23, 2011
From the September 2011 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Although Hitachi Medical Systems America has not introduced any new MRIs over the past year, they have been making improvements to their existing platforms. “We’ve done some very important software enhancements, body imaging in particular,” says Shawn Etheridge, the OEM’s director of MR marketing. The Oasis 1.2T is currently the most in-demand model of MRI at Hitachi, whose customers are a mix of imaging centers and large hospitals, most of which are located in the U.S. “The system is actually a great general purpose imager. We have lots of customers that choose it as their only MRI,” says Etheridge of the scanner, which has open architecture and a vertical-field magnet. “We also have folks that are using it for some specialized applications . . . like for pediatric imaging.”
MRI in the field and being fielded
Dr. James Thrall is chairman of the radiology department at Massachusetts General Hospital, located in Boston. He tells DOTmed News that the facility currently has 13 clinical MRI systems, some of which were purchased outright, and some of which are leased or rented. Of the 13 scanners—four of which are 3T—eight are manufactured by GE and the remaining five by Siemens.
Image courtesy of Toshiba
“We have had, for the last ten years or so, a fairly close research relationship with Siemens and it has been easier to translate our new discoveries from the Siemens research equipment we have to the Siemens clinical equipment,” says Thrall, who mentions that the hospital purchased two Siemens MRIs within the past year. “One of the new units is in the operating room, where it is actually on a ceiling-mounted track and can be used in either one of two different operating rooms to support our neurosurgeons,” he says. “This is becoming somewhat more common around the country, to have dedicated MR units in the operating room. Still not common, but becoming a little more common.”
Thrall explains that having an MRI in the operating room is helpful because transporting extremely sick patients can be a risky process. He says the hospital can use an MR scanner for 12, 15 or even 20 years. “What we try to do is periodically update our systems to the latest version of the operating software and electronics being used by the respective vendors,” he says.
