Your Guide to Medical Imaging Equipment

When you begin budgeting for a major equipment project, don't make the classic mistake of forgetting about ongoing service. A good plan for equipment upkeep is every bit as important to ROI as any bell and/or whistle feature you might be considering. As the title of this article suggests, we'll be focusing on service budgets for open MRI specifically but, before we get into the numbers, we'll walk you through the factors that service providers look at when they determine pricing. Being aware of these will help you manage your expectations and streamline the service shopping process.

Periodically, Block Imaging awards a distinctive company or product our 'Best in Class' designation. Today, we'd like to recognize our favorite wide-bore (70cm) MRI systems. While we normally narrow down to one specific product, there are two outstanding models that have differentiated themselves so well among wide-bore scanners that we couldn't pick! Our 2019 Best in Class wide-bore MRI winners are the Siemens Espree and the GE 450W. Here are a few reasons why they're both so deserving.

If you operate an MRI scanner, you probably already know how important it is to monitor your MRI’s helium level. It is not worth it to go too low and risk a magnet quench. As a provider of MRI service, we've seen the worst-case quench scenario play out: a complete refill, ramping the magnet back up to field, hiring experienced engineers, and two to three days of down time and missed patients. In some cases, a quench can cost an imaging facility $50,000!

To help you avoid all that unpleasantness, we'll share when to schedule your next helium fill from the OEM recommendations of some of the most common MRI scanners around.

Amid the slew of MRI options available to buyers on the secondary market, one is all but certain to come across a number of models from industry juggernaut, GE. Used/refurbished GE MRI systems occupy a spectrum of vintages, configurations, technology, and prices. So, to help MRI buyers better understand what their options are, we've decided to compare two systems that live in neighboring areas of the spectrum: the GE EXCITE HDXT and the GE MR 450W. Keep reading to see what's different, and where each of these models shines.