GE launches new 3-tesla MRI scanner at ISMRM

May 4, 2008

GE Healthcare of Chalfont St. Giles, U.K., is launching a new 3-tesla MRI scanner, Signa MR750, at this week's International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) meeting in Toronto.

MR750 represents a mix of power and ease of use, according to the company, which believes the system is suited for both research and clinical applications. For example, the scanner's console features a user interface that can be customized based on whether the user is a beginner or an expert.

The scanner is based on the same magnet used in GE's previous 3-tesla system, Signa HDxt, but the rest of the components are new, including a 132-channel gradient system with a maximum amplitude of 50 milliTesla per meter (mT/m) and a slew rate of 200 mT/m/msec. The system also has a 48-cm field-of-view.

In another change, GE has located the system's analog-to-digital converters inside the scanner rather than outside, with fiber-optic connections used to move data rather than copper wiring. GE believes that this eliminates signal loss and makes it easier to scale the system up to 128 channels of simultaneous data acquisition.

To improve upon full-body 3-tesla imaging, GE has developed Auto Calibrating Reconstruction for Cartesian imaging (ARC), which reduces the specific absorption rates (SAR) found in superhigh-field imaging and offers other benefits. Other clinical applications include LAVA-IDEAL, a dual-echo acquisition technique for 3D abdominal images in one breath-hold, and VIBRANT-IDEAL, which uses a high signal-to-noise ratio for acquiring high-quality fat and water images.

Two MR750 scanners have been installed, one at Stanford University in California and the other at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The system received 510(k) clearance in April, and commercial shipments will begin in August.

Signa HDxt will remain in the company's product line, with MR750 being the company's top-of-the-line 3-tesla offering.

GE to build x-ray facility in Brazil, May 1, 2008

GE in Saudi Arabian joint venture, April 28, 2008

DeJarnette teams with GE, April 24, 2008

GE signs the University of Tennessee, April 17, 2008