March 4, 2011 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently cleared two new magnetic resonance (MR) systems. Approximately 180 Optima MR360 1.5 Tesla and Brivo MR355 1.5 Tesla scanners, from GE Healthcare, have been ordered by hospitals and imaging centers worldwide.
The Optima MR360 is an application-rich 1.5 Tesla MR system that can help improve imaging productivity and help offset ownership costs. It is engineered around a high-definition platform that includes good flexibility and efficiency. Technologists benefit from ease of use, radiologists benefit from consistent high quality and administrators benefit from satisfied patients and efficient throughput.
It features an “Express Exam” concept to simplify operation and help increase productivity and diagnostic confidence. It combines user interface simplification features, embedded Express Coil technology and a wide range of advanced clinical applications. The Express Coil provides the benefits of a single coil built into a fixed table to help reduce handling and provide consistent image quality by ensuring coil elements are as close to patient anatomy as possible.
It uses an uncompromised magnet with a 48 cm field of view. It also features the OpTix optical radio frequency (RF) system, which increases signal clarity and signal intensity to produce clean, crisp images.
Its footprint is 20 percent smaller than other fully-body 1.5T systems, and it can consume up to 34 percent less power than previous generation systems, potentially saving up to 60,000 kWh per year.
“The Optima MR360 has proven to be invaluable in our radiology department, delivering quality, consistency, and stability across a broad range of clinical applications compared to previous systems in it class,” said Sedat Alibek, M.D., of Röntgeninstitute und Brustdiagnostik-Zentrum, Nuremburg, Germany. “With its optical radio frequency technology, energy conservation features and software innovations such as IDEAL, all contribute to its being a high-performing, versatile system.”
The Brivo MR355 features a 48 cm field-of-view, OpTix technology and the embedded Express coil.
To make scan prescription simpler, faster and more consistent, it also features the Ready Interface, a control center that requires fewer steps to optimize scan parameters. It incorporates the Ready Bar, which reduces 30 inputs to a single control, and Ready Brain, an acquisition technique that automatically determines slice alignment for brain scans.
For more information: www.gehealthcare.com
