Rejuvenating Old MRI Systems to Provide State-of-the-Art Imaging

Following requests from customers MR Solutions is now offering a service to upgrade old MRI scanners to provide state of the art imaging quality. The key technology in an MRI scanner is the spectrometer or “electronic brains” which interprets the signals from the magnet and creates the image. MR Solutions as the world’s leading independent supplier of spectrometers to manufacturers of preclinical MRI scanners can replace the old spectrometer with the latest generation EVO2+ for the most advanced levels of functionality and user control with an unlimited number of TX and RX channels.

MR Solutions’ upgrade service includes a wide number of options including the replacement of all the electronic systems, replacement of the gradient coils, boosting the power of the gradient coils, and even upgrading from a wet, helium magnet to a dry magnet which does not require helium top-ups. The costs associated with helium top-ups have increased substantially and can run to many thousands of dollars on an ongoing basis.

The upgrade service is suitable for any brand of preclinical MRI system up to 11.7T and includes comprehensive development software and an extensive sequence library optimized for multiple applications.

Physicist David Taylor, Chairman of MR Solutions explained, “Customers were increasingly asking us if we were able to do anything with their existing equipment. While some providers offer refurbishment we wanted to go further and offer customers fully upgraded equipment. We have now successfully carried out such upgrades and have decided to offer the service more widely.”

MR Solutions is the world technology leader in preclinical MRI scanners and continues to roll out technical innovations. These include the first commercial cryogen free range of superconducting MRI scanners up to 9.4T, the development of clip-on and within the bore PET and SPECT scanners for simultaneous or sequential imaging and earlier this year the introduction of a range of advanced CT preclinical scanners. Last month MR Solutions introduced into their PET scanners a gapless detection solution replacing the traditional photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) with silicon-based photomultipliers (SiPM). This improves image quality as the traditional rings cause artefacts that interfere with performance, enabling continuous scanning to take place.