Today's environment is more challenging. LPMI President and COO Steven R. Renard estimates that it costs approximately $500,000 to build a standalone, single-modality MRI imaging center to accommodate a 3-tesla magnet. Of that total, approximately $60,000 covers the cost of shielding and another $10,000 for the foundation and ancillary prep work.
One difference is that a 3-tesla room needs to be slightly larger than that of a 1.5-tesla room. "Outside of that, the manufacturers and vendors have done a very good job of making it cost-neutral as far as the development of the room," Renard said. "Having said that, it doesn’t preclude the extra money (required) for soundproofing."
LPMI uses standard insulation and adds another four to six inches of dead space between the primary wall and the shielding. If noise is still a concern, the company will add rubber matting underneath the dry wall. Total cost for the additional soundproofing is approximately $12,000. "If you did all that," Renard said, "it is even quieter than a 1.5T."
All in all, Renard believes the investment in 3 tesla is financially viable. He estimates that an imaging center will need to perform approximately 40 more scans per month to recoup revenues from the lower reimbursement due to the DRA, provided commercial payors don't follow Medicare's lead. LPMI can perform scans on approximately 30 patients per day on its 3-tesla system, compared with 24 to 26 a day on a 1.5-tesla scanner.
To help facilities meet their 3-tesla investments, vendors are offering operating leases. Renard opted for that option with LPMI's second 3-tesla system. "Operating leases bring the price of the 3T magnets close to what you pay on a capital lease on a 1.5T," he said. "From that standpoint, you have the bandwidth, the marketing capability, the additional procedures, and you are not looking to upgrade in Year 5."
LPMI figures to invest approximately $2.2 million for its fully loaded 3-tesla MRI, with payments of approximately $34,000 a month for the operating lease, compared with $44,000 for a five-year dollar buyout loan.
-- Wayne Forrest
![Examples of ultrasound findings and techniques. (A) Images in a 39-year-old male patient with a mass in the left thigh. The mass is heterogeneous on the B-mode US image (compared with the patient in D) and showed increased microvascularity (superb microvascular imaging [SMI]) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) values. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy (with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in surgical specimen). (B) Images in an 18-year-old male patient with a mass in the left leg. The mass is hypoechoic on the B-mode image, with no other findings suggestive of malignancy. The lesion is in contact with the cortex of the tibia, which is slightly irregular. CT revealed a doubtful anteromedial tibial erosion. The microvascular study demonstrated high vascularization, suggestive of malignancy. Periosteal Ewing sarcoma was diagnosed with both histologic and immunohistochemical confirmation. (C) Images in a 69-year-old female patient with a lump growing on the outside of the left leg. Multiple SWE examinations were performed (please note the high values obtained in the measurements, whereas the color map highlights the stiffness relative to adjacent tissues). SMI showed areas of increased vascularization to target for sampling. Undifferentiated spindle cell sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with residual leiomyosarcoma in the surgical specimen after neoadjuvant therapy. (D) Images in a 56-year-old female patient with a mass in the right thigh. The mass is heterogeneous at both B-mode ultrasound (similar to patient A) and MRI (coronal T2-weighted spectral attenuated inversion recovery [SPAIR]; T1-weighted pre-contrast and postcontrast imaging), which even shows uptake after the administration of paramagnetic contrast material, which is traditionally suggestive of malignancy. Low values at SMI and elastography are suggestive of benignity. Spindle cell lipoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumor in the surgical specimen.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/08/images-radiol250278fig2.APCFLSvX6p.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)