Called the Magnetom Flow, the 1.5-tesla (T) platform for MRI has a closed helium circuit and no quench pipe. The amount of liquid helium required for cooling has been reduced to 0.7 litres from as much as 1500 litres, thanks to Dry Cool technology, bringing down costs and saving resources.

The quench pipe was previously needed to safely allow cold helium to escape from the building directly into the atmosphere in the event of an emergency shutdown. The new system, with a bore size of 600mm, is said to cover the entire range of applications for MRI. Image reconstruction based on artificial intelligence enables shorter measurement times with improved image quality, says the company, while the simplifying of the normally complex MRI workflow through automation is reported to deliver high quality and increased efficiency.

Magnetom Flow is the second virtually helium-free MRI platform from Siemens Healthineers with Dry Cool technology. The company has set itself the goal of making an important contribution to greater sustainability in the healthcare sector in the coming years with this and other technologies. 

“The world's population is growing and with it the need for MRI exams,” said Andreas Schneck, head of magnetic resonance at Siemens Healthineers. “However, the simultaneous rise in cost pressure and lack of personnel make it difficult to operate MRI economically. The Magnetom Flow platform provides the answer to the challenges facing healthcare systems. It increases productivity in routine clinical practice due to its high degree of automation and makes a decisive contribution to sustainability with the Dry Cool technology.”

As well as using significantly fewer natural resources, such as helium, Magnetom Flow considerably reduces energy consumption, says the company, which adds that with the help of the improved Eco Gradient mode, the system automatically switches off energy-intensive components when they’re not needed. Thanks to the introduction of Eco Power mode, in combination with helium-free technology, it’s possible, says Siemens Healthineers, to save a further 30 per cent in cooling capacity overnight.

Compared with many other 1.5T scanners, Magnetom Flow is said to reduce installation requirements and costs thanks to its compact size of less than 2 metres in height, 24 square metres in footprint, and the lack of a quench pipe. Conventional systems are so large and heavy that it’s often only possible to install them in existing buildings with considerable and costly structural alterations.

In clinical practice, the new MRI platform can significantly reduce patient slot times and improve the patient experience thanks to its intuitive and highly automated design, the company states, with the entire operation now capable of being carried out next to the patient – from registration, to positioning, to starting the examination – saving time and reassuring patients. In addition, the coils, which adapt to the body, feature novel sensors said to enable automatic position detection in the exam room.

“Operating MRI systems can be a challenge even for experienced personnel,” said Dr Markus Kopp, senior physician for radiology at Germany’s Uniklinikum Erlangen. “Magnetom Flow simplifies the entire workflow for our team and enables efficient operation with only a short training time. Moreover, our patients and staff benefit from faster scanning times and excellent image quality.”

To keep examination times short and improve image quality, the system is reported to be equipped with extensive AI-supported image reconstruction. Measurement times can be reduced by up to 50 per cent, while image quality is doubled, claims Siemens Healthineers.