HCB News: The uMR Jupiter 5T has not yet received CE Mark or FDA approval, but do you have partners that are currently utilizing the system to better assess its capabilities?
JB: We do have 8 5T systems installed outside the USA, and our customers are using them to drive research and clinical results. We have seen incredible image quality from these first installations and we are very excited about the potential for this scanner in clinical applications that are currently limited by signal, resolution or inherent B1 challenges at ultra-high field. A few examples are musculoskeletal, prostate, and pancreas. These machines come with very high gradient performance – 120 mT/m and 200 T/m/s – which is driving excellent performance for neuro imaging as well, including high resolution DTI and fMRI. High potential neuroimaging applications include neurodegenerative disease, multiple sclerosis, and intractable epilepsy.

HCB News: How do you imagine the cost of ownership for this scanner comparing to the 3T and 7T systems already on the market?

JB: As you might expect, the costs should fall in the middle of these two field strengths. We have targeted the siting to be very similar to the spatial requirements of 3T. In fact, the system should be able to site in a typical 3T bay, which greatly reduces the siting burden and cost. Shielding requirements in similar locations, and ongoing service costs, should be significantly less than a traditional 7T. Traditionally, UHF MR systems have required increased staff support costs to operate the program, including development and physics support, as compared to 1.5T and 3T. While new research applications will be a major interest, our first installations have shown us that the support requirements will be greatly reduced for a clinical 5T program based on the system design, available hardware (incl. coils), and usability. Our hope is that lower operational costs and a full range of clincial applications will drive access to ultra-high field MR through this 5T platform.

HCB News: Do you have an approximate timeline in place for when you hope the system will be commercially available?
JB: The United Imaging 5T system is commercially available in China and the installed systems are already having an impact with our customers there. One can imagine that we are excited to potentially bring this to the USA as soon as possible. There is no timeline available, as we must follow the required regulatory path.

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