So, you’re looking to sell your still installed GE MRI machine and doing your homework to find out how much it is worth? You've come to the right place!

As an orthopedic practitioner approaching the MRI scanner marketplace, one technical consideration you’ll encounter is the gradient slew rate. Slew rates affect both the scan speed and image quality of an MRI scanner and, without delving into a lot of tech-speak: the higher the slew rate, the faster the scan and clearer the image.

“I’m the lucky one they asked to outsource this MRI system”  

See the video below for a breakdown of cost and price information for popular MRI machine models from leading manufacturers, including: 

• GE

• Siemens

• Hitachi

• Philips

Have you ever sat in a meeting or convention and felt like you were listening in on a texting conversation between two 14 year-old girls?  Sure, every field has their acronyms and shortened verbiage, but is it really more efficient if you have to run back to your office after the meeting to Google what HICCUP stands for and why there’s not two O’s in SMOG when it clearly stands for the School of Mathmagitional Occupologication Orbits and Geographonomy? 

We’re here to help.  No more nodding along at who, when, and where that convention is or wondering when subtraction could be “digital”!  Over the next few weeks, we’ll be breaking down common acronyms and phrases within the imaging segment.  

As always, if you know of a toughie that stumped you for your first 15 years in imaging, please let us know and we’ll include it so others can learn and be able to throw their hands in the air like front-row kindergartners any time it gets brought up. 

Two weeks ago we discussed the testing necessary to prepare a site for MRI scanner shielding installation. One of the tests mentioned was the RF interference test. After you get the results from this test, your shielding vendor will have a recommendation for what level of RF shielding your site will need to prevent interference in your MRI images.

So, you installed an MRI system a few years back with the right set of coils, and you started scanning patients like crazy. Soon after, you couldn’t picture life without it. You’ve drawn stares while crooning soft songs into its bore. You’ve been spotted reading Goodnight Moon out loud in the exam room after hours. A tattoo of a gantry with a heart around it can be found on your bicep.

An MRI magnet is an incredibly powerful thing. Here’s some perspective on that statement: The magnetic field of current MRI magnets ranges from 0.3-3.0 tesla. The magnetic field of the Earth (yes, the ENTIRE planet) is approximately 0.5 gauss. If you’re not up on your units of magnetic measurement, this means the magnetic fields of our MRIs are anywhere from 1,500 to 15,000 times stronger than that of the world on which they sit.

Looking over the wide landscape of secondary market MRIs, a couple of things become very clear:  Open MRI is still widely used and in high demand, and the Hitachi Airis II is perhaps the most popular open MRI of them all. With .3 Tesla strength, a permanent magnet, and low annual maintenance costs, it’s a reliable system that meets a variety of imaging needs.