From the September 2018 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


Stahre said the higher density coil elements also provide the opportunity to acquire images faster. The company is also building the intelligence into the scanner so the technologist doesn’t have to worry about optimizing the scan for the coils.

“The tech positions the patient on the table, lays the AIR coil on top of the patient, and selects the position of the anatomy to be scanned at the side of the table,” Stahre said. “As the patient moves into the scanner, coil locations are automatically detected by the system, which uses that information to optimize the coil element combinations, to enhance parallel imaging speed and image quality, over the prescribed field of view.”


The technologist can also turn various coil elements on and off.

The technology is available in a 48-channel head coil, a 30-channel anterior array providing 65 centimeters of coverage, and a 60-channel posterior array providing 110 centimeters of coverage.

Hitachi
Hitachi recently released its Echelon Smart 1.5T system, which is sold in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world, where there is a larger market for systems with a 60-centimeter bore.

“It has the same clinical capabilities as wider bore systems, but there’s just not a huge market for that in the U.S.,” said Jason Miller, director of the MR product line for Hitachi.

A little over a year ago, the company released a high-element body coil for its Echelon Oval 1.5T scanner, which consists of two pieces that latch together. Also new to the market are dedicated foot and ankle coils for Hitachi’s Oasis 1.2T open MR scanner.

MR Instruments
MR Instruments recently released the second generation of its DuoFLEX Coil Suite, which first came out in 2015, which features 12” longer cables and an added 60 degrees of rotation to reach all areas of the anatomy.

September 2018 Magazine

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