Your Guide to Medical Imaging Equipment

If you're new to the world of MRI, there's a learning curve that can take a good chunk of time to master. Safety, maintenance, cryogens, parts- each of these areas has its own set of particulars and minding each of them will help you run your system and serve your patients more efficiently.

We first published this article in 2015 to help new MRI users become better acquainted with a part that's crucial to monitor for better scanner performance and lower maintenance costs: the cold head. Years later, this is advice is as valuable as ever. Keep reading to learn what a cold head does, how long it lasts, how much it costs, and some service tips to keep it in good condition.

Is your area prone to rough weather? Tornadoes? Hurricanes? Frequent thunderstorms? Your MRI may have made it through in the past, but now you want to protect this large, expensive piece of equipment from the harsh, unpredictable elements. Or maybe the weather service is predicting the worst storm season in years. Either way, we have some solutions that could help you add extra layers of protection for your equipment.

It's a question we get every single day: "How much does an MRI machine cost?" And for good reason: an MRI scanner is both a cornerstone and, often, the most costly modality in any imaging department.

To lend some clarity on the subject, the price list below breaks down current average cost and price information for popular MRI machine models from leading manufacturers like GE, Siemens, Hitachi, Philips, and Toshiba, If you're a more visual person, you can also see the list in video format.

Click here to see current MRI machine inventory and get a custom quote.

If you own or operate an MRI scanner you understand how important it is to monitor your system's helium level and cooling performance. You may also know that even with regular checks, things that will drop your helium level dramatically and put you at risk for a magnet quench can still happen. Nights, weekends, even regular office hours between checkups are all times when a parts failure somewhere in your system can send the temperature up and the helium to a boil.

So, if you can't have someone watching your MRI 24 hours a day, what can you do to prevent incidents like this? The answer might be a device called a remote diagnostic unit (RDU). We'll tell you more about the RDU and how it works in the next few paragraphs.

Have you found yourself asking “How much is my MRI machine worth?” lately? In today’s secondary market imaging equipment in general, and MRI Machines specifically, can range widely in value. If you have a system for sale, or are considering upgrading in the next 3-6 months, you owe it to yourself to get a read on today’s market value.

This is a simple process and, if you have the right information at hand, there are equipment market valuation resources out there (Block Imaging is one) that can value your system quickly, accurately, and at no charge. The following are the pieces of information that drive the value of an MRI machine on the secondary market. Gather these details to maximize offers on your system.

To check out systems you might upgrade to, browse our inventory of MRI systems here.