Note: This report originally appeared in the November 2008 edition of DOTmed Business News. A list of registered users that provide sales & service can be found at the end.

A large number of MRI coils are required to perform imaging on various parts of the body using scanners of different field strengths. With the purchase of a new scanner typically comes a set of coils that can represent about one-tenth of the cost of the machine. It's a challenge to estimate the size of the market for MRI coils since they are bundled, but industry experts who spoke to DOTmed Business News put the size of the market between $200 and $300 million worldwide at an annual growth rate of about five percent.

To augment a scanner's usefulness and often its patient throughput, additionalcoils can be purchased new or used, and select expert repair shops are up to the task of restoring used coils to OEM specifications. These include ISOs that also double as OEMs themselves, making coils for major players.


For instance, MEDRAD is a well established coil repairer and maker. The company develops coils for GE, Siemens and Philips through co-design efforts. MEDRAD also has a repair shop that serves hospitals directly.

"If they have a problem with a coil and prefer not to go to the OEM and purchase a new coil, we're able to help them and repair their coil at a much lower price," said Diane Watson, Executive Director, Multi Vendor Service, MEDRAD, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA.

Providers need to cut costs in the wake of declining reimbursements from the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), longstanding economic challenges in the health care industry and recent headlines about the credit crunch and potential decrease in capital availability. These forces make it very attractive to extend the life of coils by repairing them, or even buying used coils from hospitals, online auctions, or reputable third parties. A new coil might run $50,000, while a repair may cost in the $5,000 range, as a broad ballpark.

Coils are specific to the scanner as well as the imaging procedure prescribed.The growing adoption of 3T MRI systems has necessitated even greater expertise on the part of coil repairers since the technologies can be more complex. At the same time, there's more to be saved in repairing versus replacing costly 3T coils. The coils themselves are the subject of a sort of space race to increase the number of channels configured.

"I see the1.5T market going from 4-channel to 8-channel coils. There is a lag time from when the new technology hits the market to when the third party vendors start re-buying and reselling. I am starting to see more 8-channel coilsof late," reported LeRoy Blawat, President, Resonant Diagnostics LLC, Milwaukee, WI, a GE repair and production expert serving ISOs. "But with the economy, people are holding back on their new capital equipment purchases. That is going to force the end user to buy refurbished MR machines rather than new ones. They might also buy used coils--maybe not the newest technology in coils. I think that there will be more work to be had for [the service] industry because of the DRA and the economy."

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